Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus refers to strains of Staphylococcus aureus that have become resistant to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. With the increase of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin, vancomycin (or another glycopeptide antibiotic, teicoplanin) is often a treatment of choice in infections with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Three classes of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus have emerged that differ in vancomycin susceptibilities: vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA), heterogenous vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (hVISA), and high-level vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA).