Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

The acquisition and emergence of carbapenem resistance among Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) is a major cause of concern, since carbapenems currently represent the treatment of choice for severe infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains producing extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL). In 2017, the World Health Organization had published a global priority pathogens list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to help in prioritizing the research and development of new and effective antibiotic treatments. In this list, it identifi ed carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (which includes Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, as the top three critical threats. Although great efforts have been made to enhance epidemiological surveillance in Europe, virulence traits and molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant isolates from some countries remains scarce. Additionally, it remains somewhat unclear how pathogenic bacteria, its resistance and virulence, have evolved in over the time and its relationship with the healthcare system changes imposed by medical technologies. All combined, this thematic can constitute an important threat to safety patients, a signifi cative economic burden and a serious challenge to hospital management.

Biography

Catia Sofi a Gabriel Caneiras has completed her graduation in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharm D) from University of Lisbon (Faculty of Pharmacy) and Master’s degree in Clinical Microbiology (MSc) in the Faculty of Medicine from the same university. Currently, she is a PhD student in the fi eld of Health Sciences and Technologies, specialty in Microbiology. She is working as the Healthcare Business Director and Scientifi c Director of Praxair Portugal and she is responsible for the telemedicine development area. She is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at FFUL and Invited Researcher at the Institute of Environmental Health. She has participated in more than 100 scientifi c activities, including 25 oral communications and 30 publications. She is an invited Reviewer of Journal of Medical Microbiology, Microorganisms, Journal of Clinical Medicine and International Journal of Environment and Public Health.

E-mail: ccaneiras@gmail.com