Projects
Reduction of antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic bacteria in production animals Ghent University
Understanding the prevalence of acquired antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic and indicator bacteria in pigs and poultry and describing the use of antimicrobial agents in these sectors. Further on, the effect of a reduced prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents on antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic and indicator bacteria will be studied on middle long term. The aim is to show a possibility of a reduced antimicrobial agent use due to ...
Diversity, antimicrobial sensitivity and virulence mechanisms of Helicobacter suis, a pathogen in pigs with zoonotic significance Ghent University
Helicobacter suis is the most prelevant gastric non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter in humans with gastric disease. This agent has also been associated with gastric ulceration in pigs, but the exact role of H. suis in gastric pathology in pigs is not clear. The genomic diversity, antimicrobial sensitivity and virulence mechanims of this agent will be studied.
“One Health” implications of the use of antibacterial agents in pet animals Ghent University
The PET-AMR project will investigate the “One Health” implications of the use of antibacterial agents in pet animals in Belgium. Five different research questions will be investigated through 5 corresponding work packages. The first question is “which antibiotics are used in dogs and cats, for which indications and in which quantity”. To answer this, up to 200 veterinary practices will be contacted to collect data to quantify the ...
Genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of hantaviruses KU Leuven
Hantaviruses are zoonotic pathogens responsible for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) after human transmission. Pathogenic hantaviruses primarily have rodents as their reservoir, with humans acting as an accidental dead-end host. The actual hantavirus host range appears to be much broader with hantaviruses detected in shrews, moles, bats, reptiles, and fish. In Western, Northern, and Central ...
Host switching pathogens, infectious outbreaks and zoonosis; a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network KU Leuven
The ongoing increase of the human population accompanied by growing numbers of livestock to feed this population, as well as human invasion into natural habitats of wild animals makes humans progressively vulnerable to animal pathogens. Global trade as well as climate changes can contribute to pathogen transmission, e.g. through import of infected vectors or expansion of habitats for arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes and midges. Examples ...
Model-based prediction of outbreak dynamics of nephropathia epidemica using climate and vegetation data KU Leuven
Wildlife-originated zoonotic diseases in general are a major contributor to emerging infectious diseases. Fifteen emerging zoonotic or vector-borne infections with increasing impact on humans in Europe were identified during the period 2000-2006. Global climate change may be a major contributor to the spread of these zoonotic diseases. Rodent borne hantavirus infections are part of this list. Puumala virus (PUUV), hosted by the bank vole ...
Molecular Epidemiology of tuberculosis at Human-Animal interface in the pastoral areas of Ethiopia with subsequent development of improved diagnostic approach KU Leuven
Against the available diagnosis and treatment advances, tuberculosis remains a relentless disease that is one of the leading causes of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. More importantly, the highest burden of tuberculosis is attributed to low- and middle-income countries such as Ethiopia, where limited resources and high population density intersect. Since zoonotic mycobacteria have numerous host ranges that serve as ...
Emerging bacterial food safety risks: the Campylobacter-Proteus-Escherichia test case Ghent University
The World Health Organization reports that more than 70% of characterized emerging infectious agents have zoonotic transmission. For emerging bacterial pathogens, transmission via food of animal origin must be taken into account. However, with current analysis methods and strategies in clinical and food microbiology, these are not picked up. Causes of this are the introduction of culture-independent methods that often have insufficient ...