CHROMagar™ VRE base and supplement

Product information

There are two types of vancomycin resistance in enterococci. The first type is intrinsic resistance (mostly vanC type but also vanD, vanE, vanF etc) found in E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus/E. flavescens and demonstrates a low-level resistance to vancomycin. The second type of vancomycin resistance in enterococci is acquired resistance (vanA & vanB types), mostly seen in E. faecium and E. faecalis.

• Simple, fast and reliable tool for the direct detection of VRE strains with transmissible resistance: this is a precious help in the implementation of the appropriate control measures to prevent the spread of VRE.
• Intense colony colours: in the new CHROMagar™  VRE media, VRE. faecalis and VRE. faecium strains are easily distinguishable by the colony colour. In the contrary, in the Classical agar for the detection of VRE (Bile Esculine Agar supplemented with vancomycin), there is no differenciation between E. faecalis/E. faecium and the other enterococci; it often leads to false positives of other esculine hydrolising bacteria (like lactococcus, pediococcus,…); the black “cloud” makes plate reading difficult as well as the choice of the proper colony for further confirmatory tests.
• Flexibility: CHROMagar™ VRE is supplied with a shelf-life of about 2 years. This allows for flexibility of use, whether in an epidemic situation with many patients to screen, or whether for random surveillance of cultures.