what causes enterococcus faecalis infection
Enterococcus faecalis is a nonmotile, gram-positive, spherical bacterium. It can be observed singly, in pairs, or in short chains, and is most often found in the large intestine of humans. It is a facultative anaerobe with a fermentative metabolism. It can often be confused with S. pneumonia, but E. faecalis contains many identification features that can be verified with testing. E. faecalis is listed as the first to the third leading cause of nosocomial infections. Most of these infections occur after surgery of the abdomen or a puncturing trauma, but can also be linked to the increased use of IVâs and catheters, which are considered compromising devises.