A mathematical model investigating the impact of an environmental reservoir on the prevalence and control of vancomycin‐resistant enterococci

[Extract] In an article recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, D'Agata et al. [1] presented a mathematical model of the transmission of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). We developed an extension of that model that incorporates an environmental reservoir for VRE. Although our model (which we call the "environment model") supports many of the findings of D'Agata et al., we predict different outcomes for some infection-control interventions