Development of a Swiss Surveillance Database for Molecular Epidemiology of Hypervirulent and Multi-drug Resistant Pathogens

Hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant infections are associated with significant health care costs, substantial morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the rapid recognition of outbreaks and transmissions with hypervirulent and multi-drug resistant pathogen is a key priority for infection control and public health. For hospital epidemiologist, infectious disease and public health experts, and microbiologists the identification of an outbreak source is a first important step to establish effective counter-measurements. In Switzerland, the burden of pathogen transmission between humans, animals and the environment is substantial. The main goal is to implement a shared database, connecting human and veterinary microbiology laboratories, which would allow near real-time molecular epidemiology with high spatiotemporal resolution of bacterial pathogens such as transmission and outbreak surveillance between different compartments including humans, animals and the environment in Switzerland. Investigator aims to analyze already collected encoded retrospective datasets of various pathogens by combining epidemiological data and whole genome sequences from pathogens.

Inclusion criteria

• All patients with either colonisations or infections with either a bacterial or a viral pathogen, where whole genome sequencing data and available minimal epidemiological, demographic and clinical data
• Pathogens included into analysis are: Multidrug-resistant bacteria include: methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Carbapenemase- and/or extended spectrum betalactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenting bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium, and others; virulent bacteria include: Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Legionella pneumophila, Listeria monocytogenes, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, and others; Viruses include: Influenza viruses, Measles virus, Enterovirus E68, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and others.

Exclusion criteria

• Decline to sign a general consent or any other declining statement against using data for research purposes.