Activities continue in the PrIMAVeRa project, with the latest result being the publication of a new manuscript titled “Using contact network dynamics to implement efficient interventions against pathogen spread in hospital settings: A modelling study.”
August 2024
The study, led by Dr Quentin Leclerc, Prof Lulla Opatowski (Institut Pasteur, EMEA unit) and Prof Laura Temime (Cnam, MESuRS lab), addresses the challenges of infection control in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) by understanding the contact structure and its impact on transmission among patients and healthcare workers. The researchers developed an individual-based model of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) colonisation dynamics, using detailed contact networks and epidemiological data previously collected in an LTCF (i-Bird study).
They evaluated three intervention strategies: patient-staff reallocation, reinforced contact precautions, and hypothetical vaccination. The authors identified "supercontactor" individuals, with the highest contact frequency or duration, and show that targeting these individuals improved intervention efficacy. In this case, vaccinating a mix of frequency- and duration-based healthcare workers supercontactors was the most effective strategy to reduce MRSA spread across the entire LTCF. Overall, the study suggests that infection control measures can be optimised by identifying and focusing on supercontactors among both staff and patients. Importantly, these conclusions could be applied to prevent the transmission of other nosocomial pathogens.
The PrIMAVeRa consortium congratulates the authors and look forward to continuing the battle against AMR.
Read the publication:
Leclerc QJ, Duval A, Guillemot D, Opatowski L, Temime L. Using contact network dynamics to implement efficient interventions against pathogen spread in hospital settings: A modelling study. PLoS Med. 2024 Jul 30;21(7):e1004433. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004433. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39078828.
This work has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 101034420 (PrIMAVeRa). This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. This communication reflects the author's view, and neither IMI nor the European Union, EFPIA, or any Associated Partners are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.
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