FRENCH SCIENCE TODAY 2010 : Dr Patrice NORDMANN
Hôpital Bicetre, and Inserm unit 914
07/11 : IISc Bangalore
08/11: NCBS Bangalore
10/11: NIV Pune
13/11: TIFR Bombay
13/11: Breach Candy Hospital
Prof. Patrice Nordmann (b.12/02/60) is the Chief of the Dept of Bacteriology- Virology at the hospital Bicetre and Professor in Clinical Microbiology at the South-Paris Medical School (South-Paris University). He got MD and PhD degrees from Paris University. He has been trained also as a postdoc in molecular genetics and biochemistry in the US (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and in Switzerland (University of Basel). He has founded a research unit at the Bicetre hospital since 1997 (becoming INSERM unit 914 in 2008), on molecular genetics, epidemiology and biochemistry of emerging resistance mechanisms mostly in Gram negatives. His group has identified many of the currently widely spread antibiotic resistance determinants. He is member of the editorial board of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and Future in Microbiology. He is co-author of more than 390 peer-reviewed publications (ISI Web of Knowledge Microbiology: 36th /2569). He is the recipient of several awards, the latest being the Infectious Diseases prize from the French Research Foundation in 2007.
Conference: NDM-1 producing and other carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae ; here is the storm!
Carbapenemases have been reported worldwide in Enterobacteriaceae during the last ten years but there is currently an increasing trend towards their isolation. Carbapenemases of the KPC type have been reported first in Klebsiella pneumoniae from the USA, and then worldwide with a marked endemicity in Israel and Greece. Metallo-enzymes (VIM, IMP) have been also reported internationally with an higher prevalence in Southern Europe and Asia. Carbapenemases of the OXA-48 type have been identified mostly from Mediterranean and European countries. Lately, the spread of NDM-1 producers mostly in the UK, India and Pakistan is worrisome. The NDM-1 encoding gene has been identified not only in K. pneumoniae but also in E. coli, suggesting a large spread in the community. The reservoir of NDM-1 producers is associated with several factors that will be difficult to stem; poor control of antibiotics, lack of sanitation facilities, overpopulation and high incidence of diarrhoea potentially releasing resistant strains in the environment. Detection of infected patients and carriers of carbapenemase-producers shall be done at the worldwide scale to prevent their spread. Identification of the carbapenemase genes relies mostly on molecular techniques and detection of carriers is feasible using screening culture media. This strategy may slow down the development of nosocomial outbreaks involving carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The ultimate goal of the contentment of carbapenemase producers is to preserve, if still possible, the efficacy of carbapenems, which are the antibiotics of last resort.
