**4.1 Typing methods**


international comparisons because the sequence types (ST) are defined and can be exchanged between laboratories [9].

3.Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is the latest answer to all genotyping problems. This is based on average nucleotide identity (ANI). This correlates very well with DNA-DNA hybridisation. In a study done in Uppsala, Sweden, a total of 60 *E. faecium* isolates were found to have Van A and Van B genes that encode Vancomycin resistance. Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) are notorious for causing hospital and community outbreaks. The 60 isolates could be grouped into 6 ANI clusters using the WGS on the Illumina platform. When compared to PFGE, ANI had more concordance with epidemiological data. MLST was more comparable, but since both PFGE and MLST were limited by the restriction patterns of the enzymes used, ANI was more flexible and useful when a detailed analysis of a single cluster was needed. They concluded that WGS is a better, more user friendly and more discriminatory method than PFGE and MLST. Moreover, WGS could detect resistance genes also [10].
