SAMPAN

Life-threatening bacteria

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes severe infections in hospitalized patients. The worldwide emergence of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CR-PA) makes infections by these pathogens almost untreatable. The World Health Organization now ranks CR-PA highest in the list of ‘urgent threats’. Information for action to prevent further emergence has to come from insight into sources and transmission routes through smart surveillance. At present, a smart surveillance strategy is not available for CR-PA. 

Aim of the project

The aim of this project is to develop a globally-applicable smart surveillance strategy to guide action against the spread of CR-PA. 

Execution of the project 

Since P. aeruginosa prefers moist niches, we will focus on the human-water interface. First, highly sensitive methods to detect CR-PA in specific environmental and human niches will be developed. Subsequently, CR-PA will be collected in three study sites with increasing prevalences of CR-PA, increasingly warmer climates, and different water situations: Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Rome (Italy), Jakarta (Indonesia). CR-PA will be searched for in a variety of niches in the environment outside and inside the hospital, and in healthy humans and hospitalized patients. Whole genome sequencing will be performed to compare the CR-PA from different sources and identify transmission routes. 

Impact

Our project will provide insight into the relative contribution of the different potential reservoirs of CR-PA to its spread in different settings which will be used for the development of a globally-applicable surveillance strategy for CR-PA to guide preventive actions.

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• Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

• National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, The Netherlands (PI: Heike Schmitt, PhD)
• Universitas Indonesia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Jakarta, Indonesia (PI: Anis Karuniawati, PhD)

• Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy (PI: Prof. Maurizio Sanquinettie, MD PhD)

• Stichting Deltares, Utrecht, The Netherlands (PI: Bas van der Zaan, PhD)

• Université Laval Integrative Systems Biology Institute, Fac. Medicine, Québec, Canada (PI: Prof. Roger C. Lévesque)

• General emailaddress sampan.mmiz@erasmusmc.nl
• Juliëtte A. Severin, MD PhD (PI) j.severin@erasmusmc.nl
• Prof. Margreet C. Vos, MD PhD m.vos@erasmusmc.nl
• Corné H.W. Klaassen, PhD c.h.w.klaassen@erasmusmc.nl
• Anne voor in 't Holt, PhD a.voorintholt@erasmusmc.nl
• Anneloes van Veen, MSc a.vanveen@erasmusmc.nl