NOR-KLEB-NET

PROJECTS

January 13, 2020

The Norwegian Klebsiella pneumoniae study (NOR-KLEB)

In NOR-KLEB, we are studying the population structure, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) traits in human carriage and clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates using large-scale whole genome sequencing. Furthermore, we focus on the burden of human disease caused by K. pneumoniae and the association of AMR, virulence, and clonal traits on patient outcome.

NOR-KLEB includes three sub-studies: (1) a retrospective study including a historical collection of around 1000 clinical K. pneumoniae isolates from most Norwegian hospitals; (2) a prospective multicenter bacteremia study (NORKAB) with 13 collaborating Norwegian hospitals and around 1000 patients included; and (3) a population based human carriage study using a large cohort (ca 5000 people) of the Tromsø population study (The Tromsø 7 study).

NOR-KLEB is coordinated by Stavanger University Hospital in close collaboration with the University Hospital of Northern Norway and UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. Moreover, the NOR-KLEB and NORKAB study groups consist of participants representing most Clinical Microbiology Laboratories in Norway. International collaborators are the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and Institùt Pasteur in Paris, France. NOR-KLEB is funded by the Regional Health trust of Western and Nothern Norway (2016-2021).

The initiative for NOR-KLEB-NET arose from this project with the aim to include partners from other sectors to enable an One Health approach to Klebsiella AMR research.

Klebsiella pneumoniae – a key driver in the global spread of antimicrobial resistance and a target for new approaches in diagnostics, surveillance and alternative therapeutics (KLEB-GAP)

The overall aim of the KLEB-GAP project is to explore Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) reservoirs using a first-in-kind One Health approach to develop new antimicrobial resistance diagnostics, innovative surveillance methods, and evaluate bacteriophages as treatment against multidrug resistant Kp. The project will explore the presence, persistence, and transmission of Kp and related mobile genetic elements (such as plasmids) and antimicrobial resistance determinants within and across human, animal, and marine reservoirs through advanced genomic and bioinformatic analyses of large prospectively collected samples (including the NOR-KLEB collections).

The project will provide new knowledge for

further development of global surveillance methodology to monitor the flow of Kp, mobile genetic elements and related antimicrobial resistance in humans and across sectors,

the development of new methods, beyond the state-of-art for diagnostics and surveillance of Kp-clonal lineages involved in antimicrobial resistance dispersion and pathogenicity, and

pre-clinical efficacy studies of bacteriophages as treatment of colonisation and infection by multidrug resistant Kp.

KLEB-GAP is coordinated by UiT – The Arctic University of Norway in close collaboration with Stavanger University Hospital (SUH). Arnfinn Sundsfjord (UiT) is the PI and Iren Löhr (SUH) co-PI. Morover, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, the Institute of Marine Research and ACD Pharma are national partners. International partners are the Monash University in Melbourne, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Queens University in Belfast and Institùt Pasteur in Paris, France. KLEB-GAP is funded by the Trond Mohn foundation (2019-2023).