UNDERSTANDING AND COMBATING BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

Grant number: 1023526 | Funding period: 2014 - 2015

Completed

Abstract

This project will focus on two important bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph), and Enterococcus faecium, both causes of serious infections in hospital and community patients in Australia. Using new technologies, including whole genome sequencing, this project will lead to significant advances in understanding how these bacteria evolve, spread and cause disease. This will lead to new strategies for prevention and management of infections caused by these important bacteria.

Related publications (16)

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Daptomycin selects for genetic and phenotypic adaptations leading to antibiotic tolerance in MRSA

Andrew D Berti, Neehal Shukla, Aaron D Rottier, J Sue McCrone, Hannah M Turner, Ian R Monk, Sarah L Baines, Benjamin P Howden, Richard A Proctor, Warren E Rose

2018-08-01

Objectives: Daptomycin non-susceptibility in Staphylococcus aureus can emerge via the accumulation of single or multiple mutations..

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Evolutionary origins of the emergent ST796 clone of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium

Andrew H Buultjens, Margaret MC Lam, Susan Ballard, Ian R Monk, Andrew A Mahony, Elizabeth A Grabsch, M Lindsay Grayson, Stanley Pang, Geoffrey W Coombs, J Owen Robinson, Torsten Seemann, Paul DR Johnson, Benjamin P Howden, Timothy P Stinear

2017-01-24

From early 2012, a novel clone of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (assigned the multi locus sequence type ST796) was sim..

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Evolutionary origins of the emergent ST796 clone of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium

Andrew Buultjens, Margaret Lam, Susan Ballard, Ian Monk, Andrew Mahony, Elizabeth Grabsch, Lindsay Grayson, Stanley Pang, Geoffrey Coombs, Owen Robinson, Torsten Seemann, Paul Johnson, Benjamin Howden, Timothy Stinear

2016-10-30

From early 2012, a novel clone of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (assigned the multi locus sequence type ST796) was sim..

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South Asia as a Reservoir for the Global Spread of Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Shigella sonnei: A Cross-Sectional Study

Chung The Hao, Maia A Rabaa, Pham Thanh Duy, Niall De Lappe, Martin Cormican, Mary Valcanis, Benjamin P Howden, Sonam Wangchuk, Ladaporn Bodhidatta, Carl J Mason, Nguyen Thi Nguyen To, Vu Thuy Duong, Corinne N Thompson, Phu Huong Lan Nguyen, Voong Vinh Phat, Ha Thanh Tuyen, Paul Turner, Poda Sar, Guy Thwaites, Nicholas R Thomson

2016-08-01

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance is a major issue in the Shigellae, particularly as a specific multidrug-resistant (MDR) linea..

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CAMERA2-combination antibiotic therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Steven YC Tong, Jane Nelson, David L Paterson, Vance G Fowler, Benjamin P Howden, Allen C Cheng, Mark Chatfield, Jeffrey Lipman, Sebastian Van Hal, Matthew O'Sullivan, James O Robinson, Dafna Yahav, David Lye, Joshua S Davis

2016-03-31

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia is a serious infection resulting in 20-50 % 90-day mort..

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Prospective Whole-Genome Sequencing Enhances National Surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes

Jason C Kwong, Karolina Mercoulia, Takehiro Tomita, Marion Easton, Hua Y Li, Dieter M Bulach, Timothy P Stinear, Torsten Seemann, Benjamin P Howden

2016-02-01

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has emerged as a powerful tool for comparing bacterial isolates in outbreak detection and investigat..

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Intercontinental dissemination of azithromycin-resistant shigellosis through sexual transmission: a cross-sectional study

Kate S Baker, Timothy J Dallman, Philip M Ashton, Martin Day, Gwenda Hughes, Paul D Crook, Victoria L Gilbart, Sandra Zittermann, Vanessa G Allen, Benjamin P Howden, Takehiro Tomita, Mary Valcanis, Simon R Harris, Thomas R Connor, Vitali Sintchenko, Peter Howard, Jeremy D Brown, Nicola K Petty, Malika Gouali, Pham Thanh Duy

2015-08-01

BACKGROUND: Shigellosis is an acute, severe bacterial colitis that, in high-income countries, is typically associated with travel ..

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Large tandem chromosome expansions facilitate niche adaptation during persistent infection with drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Wei Gao, Ian R Monk, Nicholas J Tobias, Simon L Gladman, Torsten Seemann, Timothy P Stinear, Benjamin P Howden

2015-08-01

We used genomics to study the evolution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during a complex, protracted clinical..

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Molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Clostridium difficile clinical isolates from Victoria, Australia

Kate E Mackin, Briony Elliott, Despina Kotsanas, Benjamin P Howden, Glen P Carter, Tony M Korman, Thomas V Riley, Julian I Rood, Grant A Jenkin, Dena Lyras

2015-08-01

Some Australian strain types of Clostridium difficile appear unique, highlighting the global diversity of this bacterium. We exami..

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Vancomycin in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - a clinician's guide to the science informing current practice

Jean YH Lee, Benjamin P Howden

2015-07-01

Clinicians treating an infection assess a patient in terms of disease manifestation, causative organism and available antibiotic o..

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Complete Bypass of Restriction Systems for Major Staphylococcus aureus Lineages

Ian R Monk, Jai J Tree, Benjamin P Howden, Timothy P Stinear, Timothy J Foster

2015-05-01

UNLABELLED: Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent global nosocomial and community-acquired bacterial pathogen. A strong restriction..

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Heterogeneity of Genetic Pathways toward Daptomycin Nonsusceptibility in Staphylococcus aureus Determined by Adjunctive Antibiotics

Andrew D Berti, Sarah L Baines, Benjamin P Howden, George Sakoulas, Victor Nizet, Richard A Proctor, Warren E Rose

2015-05-01

Daptomycin is increasingly used in combination with other antibiotics to enhance antimicrobial efficacy and/or to mitigate the eme..

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Whole genome sequencing in clinical and public health microbiology

JC Kwong, N McCallum, V Sintchenko, BP Howden

2015-04-01

Genomics and whole genome sequencing (WGS) have the capacity to greatly enhance knowledge and understanding of infectious diseases..

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Convergent Adaptation in the Dominant Global Hospital Clone ST239 of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Sarah L Baines, Kathryn E Holt, Mark B Schultz, Torsten Seemann, Brian O Howden, Slade O Jensen, Sebastiaan J van Hal, Geoffrey W Coombs, Neville Firth, David R Powell, Timothy P Stinear, Benjamin P Howden

2015-03-01

UNLABELLED: Infections caused by highly successful clones of hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HA-M..

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Adaptive Change Inferred from Genomic Population Analysis of the ST93 Epidemic Clone of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Timothy P Stinear, Kathryn E Holt, Kyra Chua, Justin Stepnell, Kellie L Tuck, Geoffrey Coombs, Paul Francis Harrison, Torsten Seemann, Benjamin P Howden

2014-01-01

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has emerged as a major public health problem around the..

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Genomic Insights to Control the Emergence of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

Benjamin P Howden, Kathryn E Holt, Margaret MC Lam, Torsten Seemann, Susan Ballard, Geoffrey W Coombs, Steven YC Tong, M Lindsay Grayson, Paul DR Johnson, Timothy P Stinear

2013-07-01

UNLABELLED: Nosocomial outbreaks of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) are thought to occur by transmission of VREf..

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