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The strictly intracellular bacterium, C. burnetii, is the causative agent of Q fever, a worldwide zoonosis. Rapid identification of the spread of a given C. burnetii strain within and between hosts population is a prerequisite for thorough epidemiological investigations (human outbreaks, surveillance, follow-up of prophylactic measures efficiency). Many genotyping methods have been explored for their ability to discriminate between C. burnetii isolates deriving from various geographic areas and hosts, primarily from patients exhibiting different symptoms.
-Appointment of the ANSES Sophia-Antipolis laboratory as the EU Reference Laboratory for bee health
-Plant Health Laboratory
-Presentation of the "Evaluation of EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) in the field of food and feed and animal health and live animals"
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The National Veterinary Institute, SVA, Uppsala, has been the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for Campylobacter since 2006. SVA is also one of the two National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for Campylobacter in Sweden and is accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Major tasks for EURL- Campylobacter are to provide scientific and technical assistance to the NRLs and the Commission (DG Sanco), to harmonize methods for detection and identification of Campylobacter and to assess the performance of the NRLs in analysing Campylobacter.
Antibiograms performed by the disc diffusion method are validated by internal quality controls defined by the recommendations of the Antibiogram Committee of the French Society for Microbiology (CA-SFM). These controls are primarily intended for human medicine and are less suited to veterinary diagnosis. The multicentre study described here proposes two new reference strains, Streptococcus uberis CIP (Collection of Institut Pasteur) 103219 and Pasteurella multocida CIP 103286, as well as a new range of inhibition zone diameters and a larger panel of antibiotics tested for Escherichia coli CIP 76.24 and Staphylococcus aureus CIP 76.25, in order to improve the reliability of the results produced by veterinary analytical laboratories.
The missions of reference laboratories encompass - explicitly in some countries, including France, or implicitly - active participation in the standardisation of analytical tools. Standardised methods can be used to enforce health regulations that are referred to in written laws. Moreover, standardisation can help promote innovative technological tools.
Publication and design
Publication director: M.Mortureux - Editor-in-chief: P. Martin I Asistant managing editor: B. Gouget I Editorial board: ML.Boschiroli, D.Calavas, V.Carlier, S.Delannoy, B.Lombard, JY.Madec, V.Molinero-Demilly, B.Pouyet (SCL), E.Repérant, R.Saunier, E.Verdon
Creation/Development: L.Lelyon, C.Leterq, Parimage
Translation: Coup de Puce Expansion, D.Pottratz, B.Vallantin
Photo credits: Anses, Inra, Cirad, National Veterinary Institute (Uppsala), Centre hospitalier universitaire de Lille, C. Lepetit, Parimage
ISSN 2110-5294
Organisation of workshops, training course
2010 report on the internaboratory proficiency testing for ANSES's National and EU reference laboratories
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This issue of EuroReference, our fifth, testifies to the vitality of a publication that has found its place in the European reference arena while showcasing all its diversity and its vital interactions with research.
This European dimension is clearly illustrated by the presentation of the European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL) for Campylobacter, which follows on from the previous issue devoted to the EU-RL for verotoxigenic Escherichia coli. With this in mind, it seems a fitting moment to welcome the appointment of a new EU-RL for bee health, at the ANSES Sophia Antipolis Laboratory.
The interaction between Research and reference permeates the contents of this issue and provides the opportunity to describe first, the different facets and second, the operational synergies. Two articles in the Research for reference section, one on the genotyping of Coxiella burnetii and the other on high-resolution mass spectrometry for detecting residues, clearly demonstrate how research is contributing to the continual advance in characterisation methods in fields that, although very different, have benefited from major technological advances.
The Methods section looks at innovative applications and explains the contribution of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in bacteriology, optical mapping in microbiology and the methodology for assessing the presence of anthropogenic gadolinium in water intended for human consumption.
Finally, as in each issue, the Point of view section shines more light on a broader question. The one in this issue is devoted to the mutual benefits for standardisation and reference in food safety. The article describing the improvement in the French veterinary reference system for antibiograms illustrates one aspect of this in a field whose importance continues to grow in public health.
You will find under the Lab News and Agenda headings certain items which have become regular features. Feel free to add to them and stay in touch with the editing team, which is always pleased to hear from you.
Editorial board
Lab news
Editorial
Point of view
Focus on a laboratory
Research
EuroReference No.5, June 2011
Antibiograms performed by the disc diffusion method are validated by internal quality controls defined by the recommendations of the Antibiogram Committee of the French Society for Microbiology (CA-SFM). These controls are primarily intended for human medicine and are less suited to veterinary diagnosis. The multicentre study described here proposes two new reference strains, Streptococcus uberis CIP (Collection of Institut Pasteur) 103219 and Pasteurella multocida CIP 103286, as well as a new range of inhibition zone diameters and a larger panel of antibiotics tested for Escherichia coli CIP 76.24 and Staphylococcus aureus CIP 76.25, in order to improve the reliability of the results produced by veterinary analytical laboratories.
The phenotypic and the genetic diversity of European Ralstonia solanacearum strains, which is known to be a quarantine phytopathogen, have been described using the phylotype and sequevar classification scheme. The phylogenetic tree, based on collection strains covering the known genetic diversity of this species complex, has shown that only the Brown rot ecotype, which originated in the Andean regions, is found in Europe. In this study, we were able to solve previously reported incongruencies between the host of isolation and the pathotype of the ecotype of some host-specific strains. Pathogenicity tests confirmed unsuspected virulence for two major ecotypes: Brown rot and Moko.
Optical maps provide a graphical representation of the location of restriction sites in the whole genome of organisms under study. They can be obtained semi-automatically using a method developed by the company OpGen. Optical maps offer many advantages when undertaking and completing the sequencing of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes.
From October 2009 to June 2010, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES, France) Nancy Laboratory for Hydrology conducted a study to determine the frequency and concentration level of anthropogenic gadolinium in raw and treated waters at for 285 French sites.
Antibiograms performed by the disc diffusion method are validated by internal quality controls defined by the recommendations of the Antibiogram Committee of the French Society for Microbiology (CA-SFM). These controls are primarily intended for human medicine and are less suited to veterinary diagnosis.
Agenda
Methods
