Novel control measures to prevent the spread of highly virulent multi-drug resistant clones

The dramatic increase of new antibiotic resistance genes and the prevalence of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics are reason for concern. The problem includes not only the spread of clonal strains but also of mobile genetic elements.

The existing programmes for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance are mostly observational and lack studies designed to provide scientific understanding of the epidemiology, virulence and resistance mechanisms at the genomic and proteomic levels. Currently, epidemiological methods are not applied in most resistance surveillance studies, therefore far greater epidemiologic rigour is needed to better understand the impact of the resistance.

TROCAR introduces novel elements to control nosocomial and community spreading of highly virulent multi-drug resistant strains of bacterial pathogens. The coherent genomic and proteomic approach will provide a more detailed knowledge of the fundamentals of epidemiology, resistance and virulence. Moreover, the bioinformatics tools developed will help investigators to analyse the obtained data and design solutions and recommendations for clinical practice.

By combining the outputs of the project it will be possible to provide the scientific basis for an early warning system when isolates of a particular epidemicity appear in the community and nosocomial settings. TROCAR will create a knowledge base to recommend novel control measures to limit or prevent the spread of highly virulent multi-drug resistant clones. It is an example of modern translational research, from molecule to preventive action.