Bacto-viral coinfections are mixed infections in which not only bacterial, but also viral pathogens are found in the organism, leading to severe courses of illness. Coinfections can affect both humans and animals. In particular, coinfections of flu viruses - Influenza A Viruses - with bacterial infections, which cause severe lung infections, are connected to high annual death rates. The research programme “KoInfekt” will examine coinfections of Influenza A Viruses with the most prevalent bacterial pathogens of secondary infections, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus suis, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.
The goal is to elucidate the host-pathogen interactions, the course of illness and the host immune response in order to produce new strategies for fighting and preventing illness. Pigs are to be established as the biomedical infection models for the coinfection of Influenza A Viruses and bacteria. “Pigs have a close genetic and physiological resemblance to humans and can therefore serve as a natural model for infections in humans”, explains Prof. Thomas C. Mettenleiter, President of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut. The Federal Research Institute for Animal Health on the island of Riems, near Greifswald will bring in its expertise, in particular in the area of large animal infection research and virology. “Our key field of research will base on small animal infection research, bacteriology, immunology and protein analysis together with the other partners in KoInfekt”, adds Prof. Sven Hammerschmidt, infection researcher at the University of Greifswald and coordinator of the consort.
The results from KoInfekt will help make prognoses for the severity of the course of illness more accurate, establish molecular biomarkers and improve their clinical use.
Contact at the University of Greifswald
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Contact at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, island of Riems
Press and Public Relations Office
Elke Reinking
Tel.: +49 3835 17-1244
elke.reinking(at)fli(dot)de
www.fli.de
Project Partners
Coordinator:
- Prof. Dr. Sven Hammerschmidt, University of Greifswald, Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genomics, Department of the Genetics of Microorganisms
Co-Coordinators:
- Prof. Dr. Thomas C. Mettenleiter (Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, island of Riems)
- Prof. Dr. Dörte Becher, University of Greifswald, Institute of Microbiology
- Prof. Dr. Barbara Bröker, University Medicine Greifswald, Institute of Immunology
- Prof. Dr. Bernd Kreikemeyer, University Medicine Rostock, Institute of Medical Microbiology
- Prof. Dr. Lars Kaderali, University Medicine Greifswald, Institute of Bioinformatics
- Prof. Dr. Michael Lalk, University of Greifswald, Institute of Biochemistry
- Prof. Dr. Brigitte Müller-Hilke, University Medicine Rostock, Institute of Immunology
- Prof. Dr. Kathrin Riedel, University of Greifswald, Institute of Microbiology
- Dr. Frank Schmidt, University Medicine Greifswald, Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genomics, Department of Functional Genomics
- Prof. Dr. Jochen Schubert, University Medicine Rostock, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care
- Prof. Dr. Ulrike Seifert, University Medicine Greifswald, Institute of Medical Microbiology
- Prof. Dr. Tim Urich, University of Greifswald, Institute of Microbiology
- Prof. Dr. Uwe Völker, University Medicine Greifswald, Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genomics, Department of Functional Genomics