Rhys White from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research in New Zealand presented at London Calling 2025. The title of the session was “Nanopore sequencing captures first in-patient evolution of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium in New Zealand.” White explained that Enterococcus faecium lives in the human gut and is a Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen. White and team in New Zealand have been recording vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREfm). While the levels are relatively low, other countries like Australia are seeing higher prevalence. For this study, the team focused on the Capital and Coast District Health Board and Hutt Valley District Health Boards in New Zealand. Isolates of interest are sent from hospitals to the ESR surveillance labs. Now, they are including Nanopore devices in the hospitals. From January 2022 to December 2024 the team obtained 265 clinical samples and detected VSEfm. Using Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction, the team traced transmission and key events. Two main clades were identified differing in two genes. One lineage was intriguing, and the team can show chromosomal integration of a Tn1549-like element post vancomycin treatment.
