Elucidating vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium outbreaks: the role of clonal spread and movement of mobile genetic elements

Abstract

cgMLST provides a high discriminatory power for the epidemiological analysis of VREfm. However, additional transposon analysis is needed to detect horizontal gene transfer. Combining these two methods allows investigation of both clonal spread as well as the spread of MGEs. This leads to new insights and thereby better understanding of the complex transmission routes in VREfm outbreaks.