A Smart Surveillance Strategy for Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Project summary

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.

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.

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.