Tracking plasmids for clinical and public health use

Event Description

This three-day course offers a practical and structured introduction to plasmid-focused bioinformatics with relevance to clinical microbiology and public health surveillance. Participants will gain insight into the challenges of reconstructing, annotating, and comparing plasmids from bacterial whole-genome sequencing data. Through expert lectures and hands-on exercises, the course will equip participants with tools and strategies to detect plasmid-borne antimicrobial resistance, understand transmission dynamics, and support outbreak investigations. While the main focus is on clinical contexts, examples from animal and environmental sources will also be discussed to provide a broader perspective.

Intended audience: 

Clinical microbiologists, public health specialists, infection control professionals and bioinformaticians who work with, or plan to work with, bacterial whole-genome sequencing data for surveillance or outbreak investigation. A basic understanding of genome-based typing and command-line tools is useful but not required.

Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Be able to explain the clinical relevance of plasmids in antimicrobial resistance and virulence dissemination
• Be able to apply tools for plasmid assembly, annotation, typing and visualisation- Evaluate the strengths and limitations of plasmid reconstruction using short- and long-read sequencing data
• Be able to analyse and compare plasmid sequences in outbreak and surveillance contexts- Identify strengths and limitations of current plasmid genomics approaches relevant to their own work

Course coordinator:

Louise Roer, Denmark

Organisers: 

ESGEM
ESGMAP

Accreditation:

ESCMID office will apply for EACCME accreditation. 
Each participant can only receive the number of credits according to actual participation in the event and upon completion of the feedback survey.

Certification:

Course organisers will monitor attendance. Only participants attending sessions will be able to receive the certification.

Course Venue:

TBD

Accommodation:

Accommodation is not included in the registration.

Registration details: 

Registration fees include full access to the course, coffee breaks, and lunches. Travel costs and accommodation are not included with either fee.

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