Neonatal infections

M. Butin, PU-PH / A. Tristan, MCU-PH in close collaboration with P. Verhoeven PU-PH-GIMAP

Nosocomial late-onset sepsis (LOS), defined by a sepsis occurring after three days of life, is a common complication in preterm infants with mortality reaching up to 35% in cases of extreme prematurity. We aim to track emerging clones in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and identify contributing virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in collaboration with the French National Reference Center for Staphylococci (NRCS).

We will focus on S. capitis and S. haemolyticus species, which are spreading in French NICUs, to decipher

(i) the mechanisms of environmental persistence and biofilm production

(ii) the host-pathogen interactions facilitating intestinal translocation of staphylococci across the gut epithelium of preterm newborns, with the aim of developing new preventive strategies.