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Investigation
Pneumococcus
Publications
Legionella-Biofilms-Amebas, un problema industrial, de sanidad ambiental y de salud pública
Juana María González-Rubio, Celia Játiva, Almudena Cascajero, Fernando González-Camacho. Infoplagas, nº 112, agosto 2023 pags: 20-24. (Artículo de divulgación).
DOIPrograma de Legionelosis. En Echevarría Mayo JE y Oteo Iglesias J (Editores). Programas de Vigilancia Microbiológica pags: 74-80. Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Madrid: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 2021.
Bellido B y Pelaez C: Programa de Legionelosis. En Echevarría Mayo JE y Oteo Iglesias J (Editores). Programas de Vigilancia Microbiológica pags: 74-80. Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Madrid: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 2021.
Additional Information
The Pneumococcus Unit is in charge of two very important aspects related to pneumococcus infections, such as epidemiological surveillance and basic and translational research of diseases caused by this pathogen. Our unit contributes to the epidemiological surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), characterizing the serotypes and genotypes of invasive pneumococci circulating in Spain, as well as the evolution of antibiotic resistance in this pathogen.
Identification of culture-negative samples (CSF and pleural fluids) is performed using real-time PCR. Serotyping is performed using the Dot-blot and PCR-sequencing technique. Genotyping for the study of outbreaks and characterization of clones associated with hypervirulent and/or multiresistant strains is performed using the MLST technique and the analysis of complete genomes by massive sequencing. In addition, antibiotic susceptibility is determined following the EUCAST criteria.
Our unit belongs to the IBD-labnet network of the ECDC and annually notifies all cases of IPD to the ECDC and also to the IRIS (Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance) network. At the level of basic and translational research, our unit is responsible for studying and characterizing different molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and protection related to pneumococcal infection. Among the main objectives are the molecular characterization of virulence factors, the study of different vaccine candidate proteins and determining the possible impact that tobacco smoke and the formation of biofilms have on the colonization of the respiratory tract.
The Pneumococcus Unit is in charge of two very important aspects related to pneumococcus infections, such as epidemiological surveillance and basic and translational research of diseases caused by this pathogen. Our unit contributes to the epidemiological surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), characterizing the serotypes and genotypes of invasive pneumococci circulating in Spain, as well as the evolution of antibiotic resistance in this pathogen.
Identification of culture-negative samples (CSF and pleural fluids) is performed using real-time PCR. Serotyping is performed using the Dot-blot and PCR-sequencing technique. Genotyping for the study of outbreaks and characterization of clones associated with hypervirulent and/or multiresistant strains is performed using the MLST technique and the analysis of complete genomes by massive sequencing. In addition, antibiotic susceptibility is determined following the EUCAST criteria.
Our unit belongs to the IBD-labnet network of the ECDC and annually notifies all cases of IPD to the ECDC and also to the IRIS (Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance) network. At the level of basic and translational research, our unit is responsible for studying and characterizing different molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and protection related to pneumococcal infection. Among the main objectives are the molecular characterization of virulence factors, the study of different vaccine candidate proteins and determining the possible impact that tobacco smoke and the formation of biofilms have on the colonization of the respiratory tract.