Whole-genome sequencing as part of national and international surveillance programmes for antimicrobial resistance: a roadmap (original) (raw)
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Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2021
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a global threat, and novel drug discovery needs to be complemented with systematic and standardized epidemiological surveillance. Surveillance data are currently generated using phenotypic characterization. However, due to poor scalability, this approach does little for true epidemiological investigations. There is a strong case for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to enhance the phenotypic data. To establish global AMR surveillance using WGS, we developed a laboratory implementation approach that we applied within the NIHR Global Health Research Unit (GHRU) on Genomic Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance. In this paper, we outline the laboratory implementation at 4 units: Colombia, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The journey to embedding WGS capacity was split into 4 phases: Assessment, Assembly, Optimization, and Reassessment. We show that on-boarding WGS capabilities can greatly enhance the real-time processing power within regio...
Nature Communications
National networks of laboratory-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitor resistance trends and disseminate these data to AMR stakeholders. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) can support surveillance by pinpointing resistance mechanisms and uncovering transmission patterns. However, genomic surveillance is rare in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we implement WGS within the established Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program of the Philippines via a binational collaboration. In parallel, we characterize bacterial populations of key bug-drug combinations via a retrospective sequencing survey. By linking the resistance phenotypes to genomic data, we reveal the interplay of genetic lineages (strains), AMR mechanisms, and AMR vehicles underlying the expansion of specific resistance phenotypes that coincide with the growing carbapenem resistance rates observed since 2010. Our results enhance our understanding of the drivers of carbapenem resistance in the Phili...
Drug-resistant bacterial infections constitute a growing threat to public health globally. National networks of laboratory-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitor the emergence and spread of resistance and are central to the dissemination of these data to AMR stakeholders. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) can support these efforts by pinpointing resistance mechanisms and uncovering transmission patterns. We implemented WGS within the established Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program (ARSP) of the Philippines. We aimed to employ WGS to characterize bacterial populations and dissect resistance phenotypes of key bug-drug combinations, thus establishing a genetic background to contextualize local prospective surveillance. We sequenced the genomes from eight bacterial pathogens collected between 2013 and 2014 by the ARSP, and conducted phylogenetic analyses, in silico genotyping, genomic predictions of AMR, and characterization of key plasmids carrying carbapene...
Genes, 2018
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance is a critical step within risk assessment schemes, as it is the basis for informing global strategies, monitoring the effectiveness of public health interventions, and detecting new trends and emerging threats linked to food. Surveillance of AMR is currently based on the isolation of indicator microorganisms and the phenotypic characterization of clinical, environmental and food strains isolated. However, this approach provides very limited information on the mechanisms driving AMR or on the presence or spread of AMR genes throughout the food chain. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of bacterial pathogens has shown potential for epidemiological surveillance, outbreak detection, and infection control. In addition, whole metagenome sequencing (WMS) allows for the culture-independent analysis of complex microbial communities, providing useful information on AMR genes occurrence. Both technologies can assist the tracking of AMR genes and mobile ge...
Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2019
Special Article intrOductiOn Identification of causative agents is a highly important issue in diagnostic microbiology laboratories, and this has now been a topic of interest in clinical research. Although conventional microbiological methods are inexpensive, they have certain limitations associated with it, especially for the identification and characterisation of fastidious, slow-growing, non-viable or non-cultivable organisms which can be easily detected by molecular methods. Currently, molecular methods are increasingly being used in the field of epidemiology due to its rapid turnaround time, sensitivity and specificity although they are expensive than the conventional methods. [1] However, the currently available molecular methods are time-consuming and lack resolution and provide only limited information for outbreak investigation. [2] The recent advancement of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) methodologies had a major impact on molecular epidemiology. [3] Previous studies have shown that WGS had short turnaround time (48-96 h) and The prime goal of molecular epidemiology is to identify the origin and evolution of pathogens, which can potentially influence the public health worldwide. Traditional methods provide limited information which is not sufficient for outbreak investigation and studying transmission dynamics. The recent advancement of next-generation sequencing had a major impact on molecular epidemiological studies. Currently, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has become the gold standard typing method, especially for clinically significant pathogens. Here, we aimed to describe the application of appropriate molecular typing methods for global antimicrobial resistance surveillance system pathogens based on the level of discrimination and epidemiological settings. This shows that sequence-based methods such as multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) are widely used due to cost-effectiveness and database accessibility. However, WGS is the only method of choice for studying Escherichia coli and Shigella spp. WGS is shown to have higher discrimination than other methods in typing Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Salmonella spp. due to its changing accessory genome content. For Gram positives such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, WGS would be preferable to understand the evolution of the strains. Similarly, for Staphylococcus aureus, combination of MLST, staphylococcal protein A or SCCmec typing along with WGS could be the choice for epidemiological typing of hospital-and community-acquired strains. This review highlights that combinations of different typing methods should be used to get complete information since no one standalone method is sufficient to study the varying genome diversity.
Integrating Scalable Genome Sequencing into Microbiology Laboratories for Routine AMR Surveillance
2021
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a global threat, and novel drug discovery needs to be complemented with systematic and standardized epidemiological surveillance. Surveillance data are currently generated using phenotypic characterization. However, due to poor scalability, this approach does little for true epidemiological investigations. There is a strong case for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to enhance the phenotypic data. To establish global AMR surveillance using WGS, we developed a laboratory implementation approach that we applied within the NIHR Global Health Research Unit (GHRU) on Genomic Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance. In this paper, we outline the laboratory implementation at four units, in Colombia, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The journey to embedding WGS capacity was split into four phases: Assessment, Assembly, Optimization, and Reassessment. We show that onboarding WGS capabilities can greatly enhance the real-time processing power with...
Journal of clinical microbiology, 2016
The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is a serious global challenge. Here, we studied prospectively whether bacterial whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for real-time MDR surveillance is technical feasible, returns actionable results, and is cost-beneficial. WGS was applied to all MDR isolates of four species (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA], vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, MDR Escherichia coli, and MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa) at the University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany, a tertiary care hospital with 1,450 beds, during two 6-month intervals. Turnaround times (TAT) were measured, and total costs for sequencing per isolate were calculated. After cancelling prior policies of preemptive isolation of patients harboring certain Gram-negative MDR bacteria in risk areas, the second interval was conducted. During interval I, 645 bacterial isolates were sequenced. From culture, TATs ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 days, and costs were €202....