A multidisciplinary approach to counteract multidrug resistant bacterial infections: integrating immunity, bacterial virulence factors
Project Aim: to develop an integrated approach to face the threat of carbapenemase-producing Klebisella pneumonieae (KPC) infections focusing both on the host and the microbe.
A surveillance system on KPc has benn implemented in eleven Italian hospitals.
A database recording clinical data will be created and biological samples (plasma, blood mononuclear cells, faeces) and bacterial strains will be collected from KPC-colonized/infected patients for immunological (characterization of innate and adaptive immune responses, identifications of new immune response biomarkers and assessment of their potential, role of intestinal colonization and gut microbiota) and microbiological analyses (phylogenetic distribution of KPC strains, investigation of mechanisms of resistance, virulence factors).
Results will be integrated with clinical data to investigate predictors of occurrence and outcome of KPC colonization/infections with the aim of supporting infection control strategies and improving clinical care.