AMR Diagnostics and Surveillance 2023

JPIAMR is launching an international call for projects under the umbrella of JPIAMR and within the framework of the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION. The call Development of innovative strategies, tools, technologies, and methods for diagnostics and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance involves 23 funders from 19 countries. The total estimated call budget is about 19,1 million Euro.

Peacock feather on black background with the text: AMR diagnostics and surveillance 2023.

To take action against the growing global threat of increasing resistance in pathogenic organisms, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), this call aims to fund research projects developing novel or improving existing strategies, tools, technologies and methods for diagnosis and/or One Health AMR surveillance.

Through this call, the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION intends to create and reinforce the collaboration between research partners coming from different countries and different fields of expertise to promote research on antimicrobial resistance. The results of the funded projects should contribute to improved understanding, monitoring, detection and mitigation of infection and AMR, or optimisation of antimicrobial use where efforts to curb AMR will have a global impact on human, animal and plant health and food safety and security.

In the scope of this call, antimicrobials include antibiotics, antifungals and disinfectants (biocides).

Topics of the call

Proposals should aim to address unmet needs in the AMR diagnostics and surveillance sectors beyond the current state of the art, by focusing on one of the topics of the call:

Topic 1: To develop novel, or improve existing, diagnostics, including point of care diagnostics, that can rule out antimicrobial use or help identify the most effective antimicrobial treatment.

Within this topic projects may:

  • Develop new, improve or repurpose existing strategies, technologies, and methods for the rapid, accurate and affordable detection of bacterial or fungal infection and/ or resistance patterns and elements.
  • Study ways to facilitate and implement the uptake and use of existing diagnostics in varied economic settings
  • Optimise the use of tools, technologies, and methods for diagnostic data capture and usage, for example in conjunction with surveillance strategies.

Topic 2: To develop or improve existing strategies, technologies or methods, or data use strategies to support One Health AMR surveillance.

Within this topic projects may:

  • Develop new or improve existing strategies, technologies, and methods for the detection, analysis, monitoring and use of AMR and AMU data. This can include the analysis of existing data or the application of existing surveillance strategies, technologies, and methods to additional OH settings.
  • Explore the standardisation, FAIRification and linkage of methodologies, datasets and relevant indicators to perform globally comparative, integrated and triangulated surveillance of AMR/AMU in humans, animals (including companion animals, livestock and wildlife), plants, food, and the environment.

The following sub-topics are out of the scope of the call:

  • antiviral and antiparasitic agents,
  • proposals solely aiming to extend existing surveillance networks (e.g. GLASS, national surveillance programmes).

In the framework of this call, proposals addressing diagnostics (Topic 1) may focus within any individual One Health setting. Surveillance-focused proposals (Topic 2) should focus within two or more settings of One Health or extend to a new OH setting. In case of proposals focusing on existing surveillance strategies, the proposal should extend to at least one additional OH setting.

Eligibility

Eligibility rules for the consortia are:

  • Consortia must include a minimum of three (3) eligible partners asking for funding from three (3) different eligible countries (including at least two amongst EU Member States or Associated Countries).
  • Consortia should consist of a maximum of six (6) project partners (including non-funded partners). The maximum number of partners can be increased to seven (7) if the consortium includes: a) at least one partner from an under-represented country (including LDCs), b) at least one partner where the Principal Investigator meets the definition of an Early Career Researcher, or c) a company.

For the purpose of this call:

  • the under-represented countries are Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Least Developed Countries,
  • Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development, according to the DAC list of ODA recipients. Read more under “Information and application”.
  • an Early Career Researcher is a person with up to 8 years after PhD, holding a position at a recognized institution. The eligible extensions of the 8 year period are listed in the call text.

The budget of non-funded partners shall not exceed 30% of the requested total transnational project budget requested. Funding is granted for a maximum of three (3) years in accordance with national regulations and applicable legal provisions.

Timeline

The call Development of innovative strategies, tools, technologies, and methods for diagnostics and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance will follow a two-step evaluation procedure.

16 January 2023, 12h CET – Call opens

7 March 2023, 14h CET – Deadline pre-proposals

4 July 2023 – Deadline for full proposals

Please contact the call secretariat if you have any questions about the call: JPI.AMR@ncn.gov.pl

Information & application

  • Call text (pdf 0,8 MB). All specific information on the call “AMR diagnostics and surveillance 2023”. Updated 2023-02-01: Changes in Annex B (National Rules and Requirements) for Hungary and Poland.
  • Pre-proposal application form (Word file 0,1 MB). The application form must be attached to the application in the submission platform. Updated 2023-02-01: Hungary included as underrepresented country.
  • Submission platform. The pre-proposal must be submitted by the coordinator before 7 March 2022, 14h CET using the online submission platform. Due to the update of the list of participating countries and the pre-proposal form, the submission platform may be experiencing issues on February 1 and 2, 2023. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
  • Applicants from LDC countries: Sida can support the participation of researchers from low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and other sub-Saharan African countries where Sweden has bilateral development cooperation. General Conditions applicable to Grants from Sida to NGO:s, regarding project/programme support and core support (pdf 0,2 MB)

Webinar for applicants

A live webinar for applicants was held on the 24th of January 2023. This webinar presented the call and the partner search tool. Representatives from funders participating in the call answered questions live.

The webinar was recorded, and the videos can be found here:

Questions and Answers:

Partner Search Tool

A match-making tool has been created for applicants, to facilitate networking and the creation of consortia: Partner search tool “AMR Diagnostics and Surveillance 2023”

The tool can be consulted for several purposes:

  • Partner looking for project: As individual researcher or a representative of a lab or research team, searching for a project to join.
  • Project looking for partner: If you want to build a consortium around an existing project and want to find partners for your project ideas.

Funders

Partners working in eligible Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa can be funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Australia
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Belgium
Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)

Canada
Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)

Estonia
Estonian Research Council (EtAg)

France
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)

Hungary
National Research, Development and Innovation Fund

Germany
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

Ireland
Health Research Board (HRB) Health Research Board (HRB)
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM))

Israel
Ministry of Health (CSO-MOH)

Italy
Ministry of Health (It-MOH )
Fondazione Regionale per la Ricerca Biomedica (FRRB)

Lithuania
Research Council of Lithuania (LMT)

Moldova
Agentia Nationala Pentru Cercetare Si Dezvoltare (ANCD)

Netherlands
Zorgonderzoek Nederland Zon (ZonMw)

Poland
National Science Centre (NCN)

South Africa
South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

Spain
National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII)

Sweden
Swedish Research Council (SRC)
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

Switzerland
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

United Kingdom
Innovate UK
Medical Research Council (UKRI MRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UKRI BBSRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI EPSRC)

Supported projects

Standardization of diagnostics and antimicrobial susceptibility testing and clinical interpretation in animal mycoplasmas (MyMIC)

Animal mycoplasmas are major bacterial pathogens causing various diseases in livestock and pets and also significant economic losses in herds. Their diagnostics and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) are difficult because of their growth characteristics.

Ongoing project

Standard usual procedures for other bacteria don’t apply for mycoplasmas. As a consequence, their clinical impact and their contribution to antimicrobial use and resistance is often disregarded. Because of their intrinsic resistance to the broadly used ampicilins/penicilins family and the increasing number of acquired resistances to other antimicrobial families, mycoplasmas must be subjected to an improved antimicrobial resistance surveillance.

The MyMIC network is developed as a necessary first step towards this aim. It will allow sharing best practices and harmonised procedures between expert laboratories as well as proposing future new required developments. Furthermore, aggregation of AST data from different laboratories will permit first proposal of tentative epidemiological cut-offs as a surrogate to clinical breakpoints in order to help clinical interpretation of AST results.

Review on new alternative AST techniques, antimicrobial use across the different animal sectors and pharmacologic data will come as a complement to the diagnostic and AST guidelines expected from the MyMIC network. Lastly MycMIC is expected to be the basis for construction of future laboratories projects for animal mycoplasmas diagnostics and AST methods comparison and validation.

Expected outcomes:

  • Analysis of the answers to the questionnaire (on culture, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing) distributed to all partners.
  • Construction of a database to gather all MIC data obtained with the same (or a comparable) method for different Mycoplasma species (livestock and companion animals).
  • Contribution to MIC distribution open databases such as on the EUCAST site and participation to VetCAST (EUCAST subcommittee dealing with all aspects of AST of bacterial pathogens of animal origin).
  • Writing of guidelines in order to harmonize culture, identification and AST in livestock mycoplasmas.
  • Creation of a website for the network.
  • Drafting a project for a future JPI AMR call (or other calls on antimicrobial resistance) funding laboratory activities like ring trials, exchange of reference materials and methods comparison or validation, development of new rapid method for detection of resistance determinants (including WGAS).

Sharing and exchanging  knowledge and expertise with developing countries in control of mycoplasmas in this part of the world.

Network partners

  • Tardy Florence, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, France (Coordinator)

This network includes 48 partners from 18 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Call

Disrupting drug resistance by exploiting collateral sensitivity to design novel therapeutic strategies for C. auris and C. glabrata (CycleDrug)

Multidrug resistance is a major problem in Candida auris, the first pathogenic fungus officially considered an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat by the CDC, and in Candida glabrata, which accounts for 20-40% of all systemic Candida infections. Antifungal resistance often leads to treatment failure, which significantly reduces survival rates of lethal candidiasis. Meanwhile, the antifungal drug market comprises only four classes.

By evolving C. auris and C. glabrata in different drugs and mapping their responses to other drugs, we have discovered collateral sensitivity (CS) and cross resistance (XR). CS is the process in which the acquisition of drug resistance towards one drug, confers an increased sensitivity towards another drug. Conversely, XR confers reduced susceptibility to more than one drug upon exposure to one drug. Information regarding the evolutionary tendencies of pathogenic fungi can be leveraged to improve therapeutic approaches for treating fungal infections. Both CS and XR have been studied extensively in tumors and in bacteria but remain unexplored in fungi. In this study, we will explore novel treatment schemes that have the potential to prevent the development of antifungal drug resistance in MDR species of most concern: C. auris and C. glabrata.

Project partners

  • Patrick Van Dijck, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (Coordinator)
  • Katrien Lagrou, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium
  • Johan Maertens, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium
  • Micha Fridman, Tel Aviv University, Israel
  • Juan Antonio Gabaldon Estevan, Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Spain
  • Berman Judith, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Call

Improving surveillance of antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Europe (ISARPAE)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the top resistance threats world-wide, for which the situation is classified as critical by the World Health Organization. The growing prevalence of nosocomial infections produced by multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa strains is indeed associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, since it compromises the available effective therapeutic options, even those recently introduce, due to emerging resistance mechanisms.

Ongoing project

In summary antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa is a severe, complex, continuously evolving threat in Europe and therefore coordinated efforts should be established to improve its surveillance and control.

The network Improving surveillance of antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Europe (ISARPAE) gathers 37 researchers from 17 European countries, including multiple national reference centres on P. aeruginosa antibiotic resistance. Thus the specific objectives of this network will be:

  1. Create a forum of experts and researchers working on P. aeruginosa antimicrobial resistance to define the focus, procedures strategies and priorities for surveillance.
  2. Training clinical microbiologists, infectious diseases physicians and researchers across Europe: Hands on workshop on Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistance phenotypes and whole genome sequence resistome analysis.
  3. Provide advice, support and mentorship to less experienced or lower resources laboratories in Europe.
  4. Develop the basis for a coordinated action with relevant stakeholders at European level, including future EU research grants applications.

Expected outcomes:

  • Create a forum of experts and researchers working on P.  aeruginosa antimicrobial resistance
  • Publication of rational documents: Define the setting, variables, focus, strategies and priorities for surveillance of P. aeruginosa antimicrobial resistance in Europe
  • Publication of laboratory manuals: Define the procedures for appropriate surveillance of P. aeruginosa antimicrobial resistance Europe
  • Hands on workshops: Training clinical microbiologists, ID physicians and researchers across Europe will improve surveillance

Network partners

  • Antonio Oliver, Hospital Son Espases-IdISBa, Spain (Coordinator)

This network includes 38 partners from 17 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Turkey.

Call

Bridging of Amicrobial resistance Surveillance systems In Community Settings across Europe (BASICS)

In 2019, 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally. This makes AMR one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Among its determinant are the overuse and the misuse of antibiotics. For this reason, AMR surveillance is necessary to monitor its progression, improve our understanding of its diffusion and support local efforts to promote appropriate use of antibiotics.

Ongoing project

Actually, in Europe, AMR surveillance is mainly focused on invasive isolates reported for inpatients by hospitals or national agencies (EARS-net). The importance of AMR in primary care is scarcely documented in EU and its burden remains unclear today.

The aim of the proposed Network “BASICS” would be to map existing initiatives and identify needs for AMR Surveillance in Community Settings in Europe. It will rely on experts in AMR surveillance from several countries in Europe that will participate to physical and online workshops during 2 years in order to map the clinical labs structuring and the existing surveillance networks across Europe and to define the priority indicators needed to monitor AMR surveillance in the community.

It is expected that it will help to promote the convergence of national data of AMR surveillance in the community toward an existing or a future European online platform. Once data of AMR available, it would allow a Europe-wide benchmarking and could guide the elaboration of recommendations for appropriate use of antibiotics and serve as a tool for research on the understanding of AMR.

Expected outcomes:

  • Mapping of the existing national networks on AMR surveillance in community care across European countries/production of a report
  • Consensual list of indicators (i.e. bacterial species and resistance) to monitor through surveillance systems/production of a report
  • Definition of the most efficient feedback strategies of surveillance data to combat AMR in the community setting/recommendations on the formatting of data for publication on a platform

Network partners

  • Olivier Lemenand, Nantes University Hospital, France (Coordinator)

This network includes 18 partners from 11 countries: Austria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Call

International Fungal Network for One-Health Resistance Surveillance: Antifungal Resistance (INFORM-AFR)

Antifungal resistance (AFR) is an increasing concern in fungal pathogens, including Aspergillus fumigatus, yeasts and uncommon moulds that may cause breakthrough infection. There are currently no international AFR surveillance programs, as public health surveillance commonly focusses on bacterial resistance.

Ongoing project

Acquired AFR may develop through in host resistance selection and through exposure of fungi to fungicides in our environment, underscoring the requirement for a One Health approach to AFR surveillance. In this proposal we aim to provide a snap shot of current national AFR surveillance initiatives through an online survey, including identifying the stakeholders involved.

We subsequently will organize a start-up workshop aimed to design surveillance programs that involves clinical and environmental sampling, the use of genomics tools and data management. We aim to involve all relevant stakeholders, including public health institutes, mycology excellence centres and reference laboratories, and environmental and veterinary research groups. The outcome of this workshop will be a surveillance framework that enables systematic resistance surveillance in multiple countries, thus allowing inter-country comparisons.

To increase efficacy, we aim to develop standardized surveillance for multiple fungal pathogens including A. fumigatus, yeasts and non-fumigatus moulds. Laboratory protocols (clinical and environmental), culture collections, case record forms, data management and exchange, privacy and ethical approval issues, and communication plans will be developed. Using this framework, we will apply for funding to secure support to perform surveillance and scientific research associated with the network.

Expected outcomes:

  • Snap shot of current resistance surveillance activities for yeasts, Aspergillus and other moulds and involved stakeholders in various countries and organisations
  • AFR surveillance network designs: Involving the various stakeholders will help to determine how we can build the surveillance network, which information is to be collected (including patient groups and fungal disease entities), how environmental surveillance can be accommodated, how surveillance data can be collected and shared.
  • Alignment between the AFR networks: the network aims using a uniform surveillance network to monitor various pathogens, including A. fumigatus, yeasts and non-fumigatus moulds. This would increase the efficiency of the combined effort although differences in the epidemiology and One-Health aspects need to be addressed.
  • An AFR surveillance funding proposal

Network partners

  • Paul Verweij, Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands (Coordinator)

This network includes 29 partners from 14 countries:  Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States of America.

Call

Tools for the Epidemiology of AMR Plasmids, One-Health Transmission and Surveillance (TEAPOTS)

Disease-causing bacteria, such as E. coli, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat with antibiotics. This is because the bacteria are evolving by picking up genes that make them resistant to these drugs. This can happen very quickly, because the resistance genes responsible can hop from one bacterial cell to another by hitching a ride with small rings of DNA called plasmids.

Ongoing project

Because the plasmids, and the resistance genes they carry, can spread independently of the bacteria, it is very difficult to track and monitor how they are moving. This can pose a problem in hospitals, where plasmids can spread rapidly from one cell to another resulting in an ‘outbreak’ of infections resistant to antibiotics. It also makes it much more challenging to understand how resistance spreads in environmental settings like farms or rivers, where the presence of antibiotics might pose a risk to human and animal health by selecting for more resistant strains.

This network brings together experts from different disciplines with research expertise that addresses different aspects of this complex problem; this includes bioinformaticians and software developers, clinical and environmental epidemiologists, and evolutionary biologists.

The aims of this network are twofold; first to establish a conceptual ‘roadmap’ that presents possible solutions, whilst accounting for the rapid evolution of plasmids. Second, to provide proof-of-principal of novel approaches through the development of prototype software tools.

Expected outcomes:

  • Development of a proof-of-concept prototype linking pathogen.watch with the bespoke plasmid.watch database. This will inform on a new roadmap for plasmid epidemiology, and will be accompanied by a perspective article.
  • The network prepares a positional article outlining the requirements and utility of a plasmid typing system and how this might be used alongside standard strain typing. To include a consideration of how plasmid typing might impact on infection control strategies in health care settings.
  • Benchmarking and harmonisation to compare different tools and how each performs using short read (vs hybrid) assemblies.
  • The networks develop and validates novel typing approaches based on combining a plurality of ‘backbone’ and Mash distance methods, validated against complete plasmid assemblies. This is a pivotal step in enhancing AMR surveillance, and if validated successfully will be written up as short bioinformatics note.
  • Bioinformatic analysis on existing hybrid assemblies (from the JPI-AMR SpARK data and other partner projects) to determine plasmid transmission networks across different settings (informed by WS2). This will help to resolve the question as to extent to which AMR plasmids can transfer freely over complex One-Health landscapes.
  • Analysis of One-Health metagenomics data using tools developed by partners to ascertain the feasibility of applying typing tools to these data and thus aligning with evidence from single-colony WGS analysis.

Network partners

  • Edward Feil, University of Bath, United Kingdom (Coordinator)

This network includes 24 partners from 11 countries: Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Call

Shadows of people on a colourful background.

Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks

JPIAMR is launching a transnational network call under the umbrella of the JPIAMR and within the framework of the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION. The call Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks involves funding organisations from 11 countries to date. Networks can be funded with a maximum of 50,000 Euro each.

Call picture Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks 2022. Shadows of people on a colourful background.

This call is closed

The aim of this call is to assemble networks of leading experts and stakeholders with an intent to facilitate the development, optimisation and use of diagnostic and surveillance tools, technologies and systems. Networks should work towards the conceptualisation of ideas in order to provide white papers, guidance documents and/or best practices/roadmaps and evidence frameworks to identify key questions to be addressed and/or potential solutions to overcome barriers to enhanced surveillance and advanced diagnostics to reduce the burden of AMR.

Networks should connect experts from research performing organisations and/or establish clusters with different relevant stakeholders and end users in the AMR community. Networks may build upon new or existing global collaborations/partnerships.

Eleven (11) JPIAMR-ACTION members are participating in this network call. Each network coordinator will be able to apply for a maximum of 50,000 Euro for 12 or 24 months period for support of its activities. The total budget of the call is approximately 1 M Euro.

Please note that JPIAMR network calls do not fund research projects.

Topic of the call

Networks should design and implement ways to support AMR research considering at least one of the two JPIAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) priority topics Diagnostics and Surveillance.

Networks should also aim to address one or more of the following topics:

  1. Identify actions that will improve the diagnostics and surveillance of AMR (in humans and/or animals and/or agriculture and the environment). 
  2. Identify actions needed to support the development of new tools, technologies and systems for diagnosis and surveillance.  
  3. Identify novel or existing data platforms that can be developed or improved to aid international alignment and support the use of surveillance data and/or diagnostics to improve prescription of narrow-spectrum antimicrobials and support alignment with stewardship programmes. 
  4. Identify or assess user needs for tools, technologies, or systems for diagnostics and/or surveillance in appropriate One Health settings.  
  5. Identify the data collection needed to understand inequality in access to diagnostics and how socio-economic factors contribute to this inequality.  
  6. Extend or continue activities of previously funded JPIAMR networks within Surveillance.

Eligibility

Network should consist of a minimum of fifteen (15) partners (including coordinator) from at least ten (10) different countries. In addition, at least three (3) of the partners must come from three (3) different countries whose funding agencies are participating in the call. A network must include at least three (3) early career researchers.

Networks are encouraged to consider gender and geographical diversity among partners.

Information & application

Please contact the call secretariat if you have any questions about the call: jpiamr2022ncs@lmt.lt

Webinar for applicants

A live webinar for applicants was held on the 25th of April 2022 presenting the call and the partner search tool. Representatives from funders participating in the call were available to answer questions.

The webinar was recorded and the videos are now available on the JPIAMR YouTube channel:

Questions and Answers:

Partner search tool

A match-making tool has been created for applicants to facilitate creation of networks. The tool can be used for:

  • Partner looking for the network: an individual searching for a network to join.
  • Network looking for partners: when somebody wants to build a network of experts for the implementation of a particular idea.

Partner search tool for the call Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks

Timeline

12 April 2022 (11.00) – Call opens

25 April 2022 (13.00 CEST) – Webinar for applicants

14 June 2022 (14.00 CEST) – Proposal deadline

Previous JPIAMR network calls

Learn more on the previous JPIAMR network calls:

Funders

Estonia
Estonian Research Council (ETAg)

France
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)

Italy
Ministero della Salute (It-MoH)

Ireland
Health Research Board (HRB)

Lithuania
Research Council of Lithuania (RCL)

Moldova
Agentia Nationala Pentru Cercetare Si Dezvoltare (ANCD)

Netherlands
Zorgonderzoek Nederland Zon (ZonMw)

Norway
Research Council of Norway (RCN)

Spain
Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)

Sweden
Swedish Research Council (SRC)

United Kingdom
Medical Research Council (UKRI/MRC)

Supported projects

Six networks have been recommended for funding within the JPIAMR 15th transnational call: “Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks”. The networks include 228 partners from 40 countries and the total funding amount was 300 000 € plus up to 100 000  € fort start-up and final joint workshops. Click on the titles in the list below to learn more on each network.

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Hospitals, Resistance Selection and Transfer in a One Health Context (STRESST)

The transfer of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria into the environment and subsequently into animal drinking water may have an effect on the transmission of resistant bacteria and their resistance genes back into the human population.

This holistic One Health view of antibiotic resistance is at the heart of our project. We want to determine if hospital wide antimicrobial stewardship implementation will reduce antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria from entering the environment and if the reduction of antibiotic concentrations will lower the transfer of resistance genes within and between bacteria in the environment and in animals. We will show that hospital wastewater is a hotspot for selection of resistance and pave the way for future, targeted interventions aimed at reducing the amounts of antibiotics released into the environment even further.

Project partners

  • Adam Roberts, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom (Coordinator)
  • Andrew Singer, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United Kingdom
  • Nina Langeland, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Michael Brouwer, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Netherlands

Call

Strengthening implementation of National Action Plans through a One Health AMR full economic costing exercise (SNAP ONE)

Antibiotic resistance costs lives and money. Yet if we don’t have a good grasp of the numbers we will never know where it lies in terms of our other national priorities.

In Africa we have especially little evidence on how people, animals, and the environment are affected by it. So those who make decisions do not see it at a particular problem and, as a consequence, those who hold the purse strings in government do not fund the necessary efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.

This project will estimate the full economic burden imposed by antibiotic resistance (epidemiological and financial) in Malawi and Zambia in order to fill this evidence gap. Findings from this work should help enhance political will to take greater action. It will also allow more informed decisions to be made about how best to tackle antibiotic resistance locally by calculating the important cost-related numbers that allow different strategies to be compared. Crucially this project will bring together the key people needed to make real and further progress on this issue each of these two countries. And, if successful, Malawi and Zambia will be setting the example for how to combat antibiotic resistance in other parts of Africa.

Project partners

  • Chantal Morel, University Hospital Bonn, Germany (Coordinator)
  • Finola Leonard, University College Dublin, Ireland
  • Chisomo Msefula, University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Malawi
  • Luigia Scudeller, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Italy
  • Lloyd Matowe, Eden University, Zambia
  • Herman Goosens, University of Antwerp, Belgium

Call