Prof. Dr. Christa Ewers, head of the Institute of Hygiene and Infectious Diseases at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany, possesses broad knowledge and expertise in diagnosis, molecular epidemiological surveillance and antimicrobial resistance typing of bacteria from livestock and companion animals. Using whole genome sequencing, her workgroup identifies virulence, fitness and resistance gene determinants among Gram negative bacteria, particularly in multidrug resistant Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to provide a deeper understanding of overlaps between human and animal strains and putative transmission events.

In the framework of OASIS, the mutual aim of the two veterinary partners in the consortium, the Institute of Hygiene and Infectious Diseases of Animals (IHIT) at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen and FLI, is to provide evidence that the novel and innovative LQAS-based AMR surveillance approach can be transferred to veterinary medicine. To achieve this, FLI and IHIT will conduct a conventional AMR prevalence survey for fattening pigs (FLI) and broiler chickens (IHIT), thereby generating the AMR data needed for biomathematical simulations by other partners of the consortium.