| Staphylococcal Reference
Laboratories Maps (SRL-Maps)
In November 2005 national representatives from the European Antimicrobial Resistance
Surveillance System (EARSS) decided to create a working group of Staphylococccus
aureus reference laboratories across Europe.This working group supported
a structured survey for the identification of the strain composition of S.aureus isolates
that cause invasive infections in the European region.
During a 6 month period (Sep 2006 - April 2007), 2890
methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and
methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) isolates
from invasive infections of patients treated in 450 European
health-care institutions from 26 European countries have
been systematically collected and analysed by spa-sequence
typing. This collection provides a genetic snapshot of
the S. aureus population causing invasive disease
in Europe and includes MSSA as well as MRSA strains.
The mapping platform utilizes Google Maps and Google
Earth, providing a user-friendly and widely applicable
research tool for geographic tracking of strains/clones
with particular public health importance.
The Web Application 'SRL-Maps' utilises open API's provided
by Google for viewing the spatial distribution of spa types
across the EARSS network.
This project is a collaboration between - |
