Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus

Full Name: Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus

Aliases: VRE

Crime family: Bacteria

Crime: Has the deadly ability to pass resistant genes to other bacteria and is particularly dangerous to sick people.

Victims: More than 300,000 patients with malignant tumors are at risk of developing infection with VRE each year in the U. S. alone. VRE infections cost over $80,000 per patient on average.

Last Known Whereabouts: VRE can be carried by healthy people who have come into contact with the bacteria. The most likely place where such contact can occur is in a hospital, although it is thought that a significant percentage of intensively-farmed chicken also carries VRE.