ABSTRACT
The term “enterococcus” (from Greek words enteron, meaning “intestine”; and kokkos, meaning “seed” or “grain”) was first used by M.E. Thiercelin and L. Jouhand in 1899 to describe a new gram-positive diplococcus of intestinal origin. In subsequent years, organisms resembling enterococcus have been identified from human cases of endocarditis, and named “micrococcus” or “streptococcus” by different authors. Following the establishment of the Lancefield serological typing system in the 1930s, enterococci were designated as group D streptococci, which differ from the nonenterococci group D streptococci by distinctive biochemical characteristics. 1 Based on genomic DNA studies, the genus status of enterococci was clearly determined by Schleifer and Kilpper-Balz in 1984. 2 With the continuing advancements in medical microbiology in the past few years, organisms that form part of the human microbiota have gained wider recognition. Enterococcus is a bacterial genus that has come to relevance not only at an epidemiological level but also in terms of evolution.
