Table of Contents
There is a type of bacteria called Enterococcus faecalis that lives in our guts. It is usually not harmful in that setting but could lead to a significant infection if it gets to other body parts.
An enterococci is a type of bacteria that lives in your GI system. These germs come in at least 18 different types. Among the many species of Enterococcus, E. faecalis is among the most common.
The vagina and the mouth are other potential habitats for these microbes. Their resiliency allows them to thrive in hot, salty, or acidic environments.
While E. faecalis is mostly harmless, it does reside in your intestines. However, it might cause a more severe illness if it spreads to other areas of your body.
The bacteria could enter your body through urine, blood, or treatment-related wounds. Severe infections like meningitis, endocarditis, and sepsis might develop if they spread to other organs.
Healthy people usually don’t have any problems with E. faecalis germs. But people who already have health problems or whose immune systems aren’t strong enough are more likely to get sick. A lot of the time, these diseases spread in hospitals.
There have been more types of E. faecalis that are resistant to drugs in the past few years. Many drugs on the market today don’t work on these bacteria now.
What Makes These Diseases Happen?
People get Enterococcus faecalis illnesses from each other when they sneeze or cough. People who don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom can spread the infection because these germs are found in faeces.
Bacteria can get on objects like doorknobs, phones, computer keyboards, or food. They can then spread to other people.
Healthcare personnel can rapidly transmit Enterococcus faecalis if they do not wash their hands. Unclean medical equipment, such as catheters and dialysis ports, can also harbour E. faecalis.
This makes those whose immune systems have been compromised due to transplantation, renal dialysis, or cancer treatment more susceptible to infections, whether from infected catheters or elsewhere.
Signs of an Enterococcus Faecalis illness
What you feel will depend on what kind of illness you have. Some of them are:
- Feelings of heat and chills
- Expense and headache
- Lower back pain
- It hurts or burns to pee.
- feeling sick
- being sick
- diarrhoea moving quickly, or having trouble breathing
- When you breathe, your chest hurts
- a stiff neck gums that are swollen, red, painful, or bleeding
Infections Related to
People get a few different kinds of illnesses from E. faecalis:
Bacteremia is when germs get into the blood or body.
This condition affects the endocardium, the inner lining of the heart. Enterococci, including E. faecalis, are responsible for as many as 10% of these instances.
The term “meningitis” describes an inflammatory condition affecting the membranes that surround the central nervous system.
Periodontitis is an unpleasant gum disease that damages the jawbone, which holds teeth in position. Root canal patients are prone to it.
Urinary System Infections:
The bladder, urethra, and kidneys can get these infections.
Sores and Cuts:
If germs get into an already open cut, like during surgery, you could get an infection.
People get these diseases most of the time in hospitals.
How to Treat Illnesses with Enterococcus Faecalis
Antibiotics are used to treat illnesses caused by Enterococcus faecalis. One problem is that many antibiotics no longer work on these bugs. In other words, some antibiotics can’t kill these germs anymore.
Your doctor may grab a piece of the germs to make sure you get the right antibiotic. It will be looked at in a lab to find the best drug for that sample.
- When treating infections caused by Enterococcus faecalis, ampicillin is the best drug.
- Daptomycin and gentamicin are two other antibiotics that can be used.
- Tigecycline, vancomycin, streptomycin, linezolid, and nitrofurantoin
Vancomycin can sometimes not kill Enterococcus faecalis either. Enterococcus strains resistant to vancomycin are known as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). In this case, you can treat it with linezolid or daptomycin.
A mix of antibiotics is used to treat more severe illnesses, like endocarditis or meningitis.
Using both aminoglycosides and dual beta-lactam medicine together is the best way to treat E. faecalis endocarditis by researchers Trusted Source. And it has been shown that these are better for the kidneys than other medicines.
Scientists are looking into different drugs that might work better against Enterococcus faecalis.
Keeping Germs Away
- To avoid getting an illness from Enterococcus faecalis, wash your hands often with soap and warm water. It would help to always wash your hands after going to the bathroom and before making or eating food. Use an alcohol-based hand cleaner instead of soap and water if you can’t get to them.
- People who are sick should not have personal things shared with anyone else. Forks and spoons, toothbrushes, and blankets are all examples of this.
- Use an antibiotic cleaner on shared things, like TV remotes, doorknobs, and phones.
- Ensure that the people caring for you in the hospital wash their hands or put on clean clothes before they start.
- Ensure that everything used to take your temperature, measure your blood pressure, insert catheters, or insert intravenous lines is cleansed.
- You may be required to take antibiotics before dental or other surgical procedures if you have cardiac valve repair, congenital heart disease, or if you have an artificial valve.
Look Ahead
Many types of drugs can no longer kill Enterococcus faecalis. Infections that are not responsive to antibiotics are more complicated to treat. The future is worse for people who get infected while already sick.
Good cleanliness can help keep you from getting Enterococcus faecalis infections.
