About
Gram-negative multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDRB) spread and outbreaks have steadily increased in hospitals worldwide, becoming an international public health priority. Through the longitudinal follow-up of patients in three different hospitals to monitor the acquisition of resistant bacteria and potential risk factors, our aim is to characterize and model the factors that shape the acquisition and transmission of MDRB in these settings. Data consist of weekly rectal swabs for which genomic analysis of colonizing MDR strains and of microbiota will be performed, and information on the dynamics of proximities between individuals collected through the deployment of log-sensors on site. By combining epidemiology, genomics, ecology and mathematical modelling, we assess the role of within host bacterial dynamics – in particular plasmid transfer and and interaction between MDRB and the gut microbiome –, antibiotic exposure and human-to-human transmission, in the spread of MDRB. The project includes (1) analyze MDRB acquisitions in hospitals using genomics and metagenomics, (2) develop advanced multi-scale hypothesis-driven modeling and statistical inference tools that specifically formalize phenomena and integrate data at the genetic, ecological (within-host) and epidemiological (population) scales to characterize transmissions; and (3) exploit model simulations to suggest new optimized control strategies.
Partners : CHU Caen (O Join-Lambert, F Gravey), Hôpital Avicenne (JR Zahar), Institut Pasteur (P Glaser), INSERM/UVSQ ( JL Herrmann), INRAE (E Vergu, B Laroche)
The project is funded by ANR (French National Research Agency)