Stands for Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci, one a fast growing group of antibiotic resistant superbugs, such as MRSA and C.difficile.
Enteroccoci occur naturally in the intestinal tract of all people, but can cause serious infections if it works its way into the urinary tract, or into surgical wounds or the bloodstream of a patient. Infection is unlikely in healthy people, but in cancer/AIDS patients, who have weakened immune systems, infection is much more likely.