Hospital pathogens in a petri-dish
© IMMIH Köln/Hamprecht

Healthcare-Associated and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections

DZIF scientists aim to develop new strategies against the development and spread of antibiotic resistance.

The increase in complex infections and infectious diseases with antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses major challenges for healthcare professionals. Common causative agents of serious bacterial infections include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-producers), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci and pseudomonads. Infection with one of these pathogens often occurs during hospital treatment.

In addressing this problem, two main factors come into focus:

  1. The mechanisms responsible for the development of resistance must be better understood and resistant pathogens detected more quickly.
     
  2. Existing therapeutic options must be preserved through the rational use of antibiotics, and new prophylactic and therapeutic strategies must be developed.

The DZIF research area "Healthcare-Associated and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections" addresses these major topics in its three central themes (see below) with a wide variety of experimental approaches and clinical-translational studies. The focus is deliberately on approaches that provide an alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy, such as vaccinations, microbiota-based therapies or the use of bacteriophages.

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