Advances, challenges, and new initiatives in veterinary clinical microbiology

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• Dorina Timofte, University of Liverpool
• Wednesday 05 June 2024, 13:00-14:00
• LT2.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Fiona Roby.

The development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important public health challenges and has highlighted the critical role that clinical microbiology laboratories play in driving antimicrobial stewardship. Despite the recognition of its importance, there are several areas of improvement which need to be addressed in this field, starting with the need for standardized training of clinical microbiologists and harmonization of diagnostic procedures across veterinary microbiology diagnostic laboratories. Bacterial culture, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (C&ID and AST ) are key tools for antimicrobial therapy guidance and the lack of specific guidelines for processing companion animal clinical specimens for microbiology testing is a serious challenge to the veterinary profession. Similarly, the lack of guidelines or programmes for AMR surveillance in companion animals and the use of multiple standards is a major limitation when comparing susceptibility data between laboratories or countries. Both aspects have multiple implications for the diagnosis and management of infections, and impact overall on antimicrobial stewardship. Furthermore, surveillance in veterinary hospitals of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) associated with multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria is less well-established than in human hospitals and needs further development. Our infection control studies at the University of Liverpool should generate sufficient veterinary-specific data to enable the development of evidence-based infection control policies to help prevent veterinary HCA Is. In addition, teaching veterinary students about infection control and how to interpret microbiology results, are key steps towards safeguarding antibiotics for the future. In this talk, I will cover the developments which we implemented at Liverpool to address these challenges. In addition, I will include findings from two European-wide projects addressing these issues and how we now plan to take real steps towards developing a united approach in supporting both diagnosticians and clinicians.

Dorina is Professor of Veterinary Clinical Microbiology at the University of Liverpool and has a long-standing career in this field. Originally from Romania, where she took her DVM and PhD at Iasi Veterinary School, Dorina moved to the UK in 2004 and since 2009, has been leading the Veterinary Microbiology Diagnostic Laboratory at Liverpool School of Veterinary Science and chair of the Biosecurity and Infection Control Committee at the Liverpool School of Veterinary Science. Dorina is RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Microbiology and Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology (ECVM); she established the first ECVM Residency training programme at Liverpool and is currently the ECVM vice-president. Dorina is involved in several initiatives focusing on the development of veterinary clinical microbiology and raising the profile of the diagnostic laboratory role in antimicrobial stewardship. She participates in various clinical microbiology training events and is developing harmonised laboratory methodologies for surveillance of AMR in companion animals. Dorina`s research focuses on characterisation of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in companion and farm animals, as well as the genomic epidemiology of interspecies transmission of multidrug resistant bacteria between humans, animals and the environment. She also has a particular research interest in the epidemiology of healthcare associated infections in human and veterinary hospitals.

Chaired by Cassia Hare

This talk is part of the Departmental Seminar Programme, Department of Veterinary Medicine series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Cambridge Immunology
• Cambridge Infectious Disease
• Cambridge Infectious Diseases
• Departmental Seminar Programme, Department of Veterinary Medicine
• LT2
• Vet School Seminars

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