Molecular and genomic epidemiology of nosocomial infections

Nosocomial infections are a growing problem in all countries. To prevent their occurrence, we must understand their epidemiology, including their source and mode of transmission. For this purpose, the use of molecular typing methods is necessary. Our laboratory is involved in the development of new typing methods, their evaluation for epidemiological investigation, and their application to specific themes.

We have developed a molecular typing concept for bacterial species, which involves single-strand DNA sequencing of approximately 500 bps of two highly polymorphic genes. This double locus sequencing scheme (DLST) has been developed for Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Clostridium difficile.

With the advent of high-throughput sequencing (next-generation sequencing), we employ whole genome sequencing as a typing method for epidemiological investigations (genomic epidemiology). Our focus is particularly on the evaluation and use of the whole genome multi locus sequence typing (wgMLST) method.

Numerous examples of molecular typing applications to nosocomial infections can be found in our list of publications.

• Florian Mauffrey
• Laurence Senn
• Bruno Grandbastien