Project CZ0127 funded by the FM EEA/Norway and public funds of the Czech Republic 
Sequence characterization of selected bacterial agents
causing serious diseases in the Czech Republic
Project CZ0127 funded by the FM EEA/Norway and public funds of the Czech Republic
Sequence characterization of selected bacterial agents
causing serious diseases in the Czech Republic
The project objectives are to improve prevention of severe forms of airborne bacterial infectious diseases (meningitis, septicemia) primarily in children and adolescents and to better understand their epidemiology. Thanks to the Project the investigator team will be able to produce more sequencing data and to map the epidemiological situation of the above bacterial diseases as needed for international collaboration.
The obtained sequencing data will be entered into worldwide databases. Global analyses of the sequencing data are relevant to the development of more effective, gene technology based vaccines. The international accessibility of the sequencing data on bacterial strains isolated in the Czech Republic is highly important from the perspective of the development of such novel vaccines. On the one hand, the Czech bacterial populations differ from the West European ones, and on the other hand, the Czech investigator team has extensive collections of isolates (stored samples of bacterial agents) from a more than 30-year period. The sequencing methods are also helpful in elucidating cases of vaccination failure.
The results obtained within the Project will be provided to the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic to serve as background data for updating the surveillance programmes for infectious diseases and vaccination strategies.
The equipment purchased within the Project will be the property of the National Institute of Public Health and is expected to serve for ten more years.
The Project is based on the latest scientific advances, i.e. on the use of molecular biological technologies, more precisely the sequencing methods, for detailed genetic characterization of important bacterial agents that cause severe diseases worldwide. The sequencing methods have the advantages of being internationally standardized and of being recognized worldwide as the most reliable source of comparable data. The sequencing data are entered into international databases to be available for global analyses.
Within the Project, the following isolates from serious diseases (meningitis, septicemia) will be characterized: Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. The sequence characterization is helpful in the study of bacterial populations and identification of hypervirulent complexes implicated in severe courses of disease with lifelong consequences and high mortality rates. Preference will be given to the most recent strains isolated from patients and their contacts.
The following sequencing methods will be used for the characterization of bacterial isolates:
Clinical Microbiology Laboratories from all over the Czech Republic refer isolates from patients with the above diseases and contacts to the National reference laboratories of the investigator team for confirmation and further characterization by advanced methods. Detailed characterization data are provided as a feedback to the respective clinical laboratories. According to the capacity of the investigator team, retrospective analyses will be conducted to characterize Czech isolates stored in the unique collection of bacterial cultures of the investigator laboratories for more than thirty years. For comparison and adequate analysis of the sequencing data, bacterial isolates from healthy carriers will also be needed.
An integral part of the Project will be publication of the obtained data in both national and international professional journals levels and presentation at conferences. The obtained data stored in the international databases will be accessible even after the Project is completed.
The Project is planned for two years. In the two-year period, 600 meningococcal isolates, 400 streptococcal isolates and 200 Haemophilus isolates will be analyzed by sequencing methods. Altogether 1200 bacterial isolates, i.e. 600 isolates per year, will be characterized. Preference will be given to particular agents according to the epidemiological situation and demand by health professionals.
The project will include 4 stages:
The Project is funded by the FM EEA/Norway (85 %) and from the public funds of the Czech Republic (15 %).
