VRE stands for Vancomycin Restistente Enterokok and is common in hospitals in particular. VRE bacteria will settle in the intestines of people. If the VRE bacterium is present, there is not an immediate infection, many are carriers of the bacterium and therefore not the last of the bacterium. If an infection occurs from the VRE, it is difficult to treat because the infection is resistant to the antibiotics, so not all antibiotics will work against the infection.

The resistance of the VRE bacterium is due to two gene clusters called A and B. These genes confer resistance by breaking down the peptidoglycan layer of the VRE bacterium. These clusters also code for a carboxypeptidase that contributes to glycopeptide resistance, because the genes change the building blocks of the cell wall. Due to this change, the glycopeptides can no longer block the formation of peptidoglycan polymers for building the cell wall. vanA has a higher resistance than vanB, vanA also confers resistance to telcoplanin.

The VRE PCR kit detects the expression of vanA and vanB genes for analysis of VRE. Detection takes place of collection material originating from whole blood, sputum, urine, stool.