Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology (ZE)

Personnel and structure:

Head of the Department: Waleria Hryniewicz - Professor,

Assistant: Beata Mazińska, M.A.
phone: +48-22-841-33-67
+48-22-841-40-71 ext. 203
fax: +48-22-841-29-49
e-mail:  sekret

Ph. D. Elżbieta Literacka - eliteracka; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
Ph. D. Anna Skoczyńska - skoczek;
Ph. D. Elżbieta Stefaniuk - estefaniuk; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
Ph. D. Dorota Żabicka - dzabicka; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
M.Sc. Marcin Kadłubowski - kadlubek; ph. +48 22 851-46-70

Ph. D. Alicja Kuch - akuch; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
M.Sc. Katarzyna Bojarska
M.Sc. Ewa Jagiełło
M.Sc. Monika Kozarska - monikag; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
M.Sc. Agnieszka Kubalak; ph. +48 22 841-12-33

M.Sc. Aleksandra Kozińska; ph. +48 22 841-40-71 ext. 288
M.Sc. Katarzyna Malinowska; ph. +48 22 841-40-71 ext. 288
M.Sc. Monika Orczykowska; ph. +48 22 841-40-71 ext. 288
M.Sc. Natalia Pietrzak; ph. +48 22 841-12-22
M.Sc. Izabela Wa¶ko; ph. +48 22 841-12-33
M.Sc. Natalia Pietrzak - pionmikrobiol; ph. +48 22 841-12-22;
Małgorzata Herda; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
Anna Klarowicz; ph. +48 22 841-12-33
Agnieszka Sajko; ph. +48 22 841-40-71 ext. 208

Reference centres:

The National Reference Centre for Antimicrobial Susceptibility (OL)
Head: Ph.D. Dorota Żabicka - dzabicka; ph. +48 22 851-46-70
  • monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility of the most important clinical pathogens in Poland:
    • studies on susceptibility of the selected etiological agents of community-acquired infections, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis,
    • studies on susceptibility of the most important nosocomial pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., Enterococcus spp.,
    • studies on susceptibility of bacterial agents of the lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, and invasive infections (sepsis, arthritis, osteomyelitis),
  • monitoring of the alert antimicrobial resistance mechanisms (MRSA, VISA, VRE, ESBL, MBL),
  • antimicrobial susceptibility testing by determining MICs (minimal inhibitory concentrations) by dilution methods and Etest
  • consulting clinical microbiologists and clinicians,
  • updating and publishing annually the "Recommendations for susceptibility testing to antimicrobial agents of selected bacterial species", for the use in routine clinical microbiology laboratories,
  • participation in European standardization programme of susceptibility testing - EUCAST
  • collaboration with various Polish and foreign research programmes (e. g. projects OPTY, SENTRY, ESAR)
  • participation in external quality assessment schemes, such as POLMICRO, UK-NEQAS, WHO/CDC.
The National Reference Centre for Bacterial Meningitis (OZ)
tel. 022 841-12-33
Head: Ph.D. Anna Skoczyńska - skoczek

The main aim of the Centre is monitoring of bacterial infections of the central nervous system. It involves the collection of bacterial strains and relevant epidemiological data necessary for the effective therapy and prevention measures. The Centre reidentifies and characterizes the isolates recovered from patients with meningitis, mostly from the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) or blood samples and also from patients with meningococal septicemia. The collection also includes the isolates that are derived from other sites which may be a source of dissemination of a microorganism to the central nervous system. These are mainly isolates of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The Centre carries out susceptibility testing of the isolates, identification of resistance mechanisms, and serotyping and molecular typing for epidemiological purposes. If there is a need, the Centre also performs the direct identification of the etiological agents in the CSF, blood and post mortem material by non-culture methods (PCR).
The data collected by the Centre allow for the elaboration of Polish recommendations for the empiric therapy of infections, and for immuno- and chemoprophylaxis. These data are provided to the Ministry of Health, epidemiology officers, clinicians, clinical microbiologists and other non-governmental organizations in Poland and abroad.
The Centre also consults microbiology laboratories and clinicians in the field of the central nervous system infections and meningoicoccal disease,develops educational  programmes and publishes the data as reports and papers in Polish and international journals. The Centre is a participant of the European Monitoring Group on Meningococci.

Activities:

Quality Assurance:

  • Development and implementation of the quality assurance system, according to PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025/2001 with regard to the specificity of clinical microbiology laboratories;
    • development of research procedures,
    • validation of research methods,
    • verification of research equipment.
  • Participation in inter-laboratory assessment schemes in microbiological diagnostics:
  • the National Quality Assurance Programme POLMICRO,
  • external quality assurance schemes by WHO/CDD,
  • external quality assurance schemes UKNEQAS.

Educational activity:

  • Teaching and consulting clinical microbiologists and clinicians (symposia, publications, procedures, recommendations);
  • Active participation in seminars, workshops, courses and meetings of scientific societies;
  • Organization of postgraduate courses for clinical microbiologists and clinicians, such as:
    • Respiratory Tract and Central Nervous System Infections: Etiological Agents, Epidemiology and Microbiological Diagnostics;
    • Antimicrobial Resistance in Pathogenic Bacteria: Theoretical Support and Laboratory Detection"
    • The Role of determination of MIC by Etest and other dilution methods in Modern Microbiological Diagnostics;
    •  Function of Clinical Microbiology Laboratory in the European Union – Accreditation Requirements.
  • Teaching of clinical microbiology practitioners within specialization training programmes in laboratory diagnostics (eg by Centre for Medical Postgraduate Teaching, Polish Society of Microbiologists)
  • Organization of the international postgraduate courses and workshops under the auspices of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
  • Teaching the Sanitary- Epidemiological  Inspection workers in the detection, identification and interpretation of alert resistance mechanisms in bacteria
  • Development of the organization, standardization and quality control procedures in clinical microbiology diagnostics, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health
  • Participation and teaching in training courses on quality control systems organized by PCBC (Polish Centre for Testing and Certification) and PCA (Polish Centre for Accreditation)
  • Organization of the annual symposia Progress  in Infectiology for medical doctors and microbiologists
  • Responsibility  for students of  Warsaw University, Warsaw Medical University and Warsaw Technical University working towards  Bachelor and Master degrees
  • Specialist  teaching programmes in clinical microbiology for medical and veterinary doctors, pharmacists and biologists

Research:

ZE is particularly focused on research in the field of clinical microbiology and epidemiology of infections and infectious diseases which include:
  • Studies on virulence and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in clinically important bacteria, especially S. pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, S. aureus, N. meningitidis, H. influenzae, Acinetobacter spp., P. mirabilis. In part these studies are carried out in collaboration with the Department of Molecular Microbiology
  • Monitoring of the prevalence of alert pathogens and resistance mechanisms on a country-wide scale
  • Identification, characterization and typing of epidemic strains/clones of selected pathogens ( by phenotypic and genetic methods) aimed at developing  measures of prevention and the control of  dissemination
  • Maintenance and development of the bacterial type culture collection and the collection of clinical isolates recovered from infections and carriage (MIKROBANK)  for research and diagnostic purposes - "
  • Evaluation of tests and diagnostic equipment and  participation in clinical trials of antimicrobial agents, including novel drugs

ZE participation in working parties:

  • Polish Working Party  on Chemotherapy of Infection and Prophylaxis ,
  • Polish Working Party for Control of Health Care Associated Infections.

Research grants:

  • Grant by the Polish Committee of Scientific Research (KBN): "Molecular studies of ß-lactam resistance mechanisms in P. mirabilis strains recovered from infections in Poland. Serotypes of drug-resistant strains and their susceptibility to bactericidal activity of the complement".
  • The KBN grant: "Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Neisseria meningitidis in healthy children below the age of five".
  • The KBN grant: "Clonality and the molecular basis of drug resistance in pneumococci causing invasive infections in Poland".
  • Grant   from the Ministry of Health Health care programmes  to  establish and support: "The national network for the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic consumption, the optimalization of diagnostics, the prophylaxis and therapy of  health care associated infections and bacterial infections of the central nervous system OPTY-NEURON-ESAC".
  • Unrestricted grant from GSK :Multicentre studies of antimicrobial susceptibility of  bacteria which cause community-acquired, lower respiratory tract infections.
  • Unrestricted grant from Wyeth: A national study of invasive pneumococcal disease in children below the age of five (IChP).
  • The EU Programme: The European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS).
  • The EU Programme: The European Surveillance of Antibiotic Consumption (ESAC).
  • International, multicentres project: "SENTRY Global Antimicrobial Surveillance Program" coordinated by the University of Iowa (USA)
  • The international research programme (GR Micro Ltd.): "Prospective Resistant Organism Tracking and Epidemiology for the Ketolide Telithromycin (PROTEKT4)".
  • The international research programme (Instituto Valenciano de Microbiologia): "Global Respiratory Antibiotic Surveillance Project - GRASP".

Cooperation:

ZE participates in multiple international research programmes and networks concerning human infections (in particular antimicrobial resistance and dissemination of resistant pathogens). This means that Polish epidemiological data are included in international reports in these fields (detailed information is located in Research projects).
National:

  • microbiological laboratories from all over Poland, including hospital and non-hospital, public and private health care.
  • The Faculty of Biology of the Warsaw University.
  • Polish Centre for Testing and Certification.
  • Polish Centre for Accreditation.
  • Regional and local Stations of the Sanitary Epidemiological Inspectorate.

International scientific cooperation:

  • The Rockefeller University, New York, USA
  • The Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology in Prague, The Czech Republic
  • Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA
  • The Hershey University, Pennsylvania, USA
  • The Robert Koch Institute in Wernigerode, Germany
  • The University in Muenster, Germany
  • The Public Health Institute (RIVM) in Bilthoven, The Netherlands
  • The Dijkzigt Hospital in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Children Vaccine Initiative (WHO)
  • The Institute of Public Health in Celje, Slovenia
  • The Elisabethinen Hospital in Linz, Austria
  • The University of Teras Medical School in Houston, USA
  • The University in Antwerp, Belgium
  • The Smolensk State Medical Academy in Smolensk, Russia
  • Pathologisch-Bacteriologisches Instytut KA Rudolfstifung in Vienna, Austria
  • The Hygiene Institute in Vilnius, Lithuania

Participation in international research networks and working groups:

  • European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System - EARSS (EU)
  • European Surveillance of Antibiotic Consumption - ESAC (EU)
  • Pneumococcal Molecular Epidemiology Network (PMEN)
  • Centre for Molecular Epidemiology and Network of Epidemiology for Tracking Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial Pathogens in Southern and Eastern Europe (CEM/NET)
  • European Monitoring Group on Meningococci (EMGM)
  • SENTRY Global Antimicrobial Surveillance
  • The World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention External Quality Assurance Scheme in Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EQAS-AST)
  • The Health protection Agency National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UK NEQAS)

Services:

  • verification of  species identification of the etiological agents of infections
  • susceptibility testing using reference methods together with the detection of resistance mechanisms in pathogenic bacteria causing nosocomial and community-acquired infections in Poland
  • monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance mechanisms in clinical bacterial isolates together with their serological and genetic characterization
  • evaluation and verification of culture media, bacterial identification tests and diagnostic equipment used in clinical microbiology practice
  • epidemiological investigations
  • production of research reports which are used as bases for practical recommendations in microbiological diagnostics and rational antimicrobial chemotherapy
  • as a central or coordinating microbiology laboratory clinical trials of novel antibacterial compounds
  • consultance to Ministry of Health, Chief Epidemiology Inspectorate, microbiology laboratories, clinicians and epidemiologists

Equipment:

  • incubators – 1 CO2 incubator and 5 incubators;
  • 2 laminar flow cabinets;
  • 8 refrigerators and 3 freezers;
  • 2 covered water baths with shaker, 1 medical water bath;
  • various centrifuges (Sigma, Eppendorf);
  • 2 autoclaves;
  • a Biomic system for reading the susceptibility testing results obtained by the disc-diffusion method;
  • ATB Expression and Vitek identification and susceptibility testing automatic systems (bioMerieux);
  • Denley multipoint inoculator;
  • equipment for standardization of research methods;
  • fluorescence microscope (Olympus);
  • DNA ABI PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems);
  • DNA 3100 Avant Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems);
  • GeneAmp PCR System 9700 (Applied Biosystems);
  • PTC-200 Peltier Thermal Cycler (MJ Research);
  • CHEF-DR II PFGE System (Bio-Rad);
  • CHEF-DR III PFGE System (Bio-Rad);
  • GENE PULSER II (Bio-Rad);
  • SONIFIER 250 (Branson);
  • - 86°C FREEZER (Forma Scientific) (x2);
  • - 70°C VX350 Series 2 freezer (Jouan);
  • Gel Documentation System (UVP);
  • MULTIPHOR II System for 2D electrophoresis (Pharmacia Biotech);
  • various electrophoresis units (Bio-Rad, Kodak);
  • hybridization ovens (Hybaid).

Publications:

10 most important papers since 2000. Altogether 207 papers were published

  • Skoczyńska, A., P. Kriz, H. Konradsen, and W. Hryniewicz. 2000.
    Characteristics of the major etiologic agents of bacterial meningitis isolated in Poland in 1997-98.
    Microbial Drug Resistance 2: 147-53.
  • McGee, L., L. McDougal, J. Zhou, B. G. Spratt, F. C. Tenover, R. George, R. Hakenbeck, W. Hryniewicz, J. C. Lefevre, A. Tomasz A, and K. P. Klugman. 2001.
    Nomenclature of major antimicrobial-resistant clones of Streptococcus pneumoniae defined by the pneumococcal molecular epidemiology network.
    J Clin Microbiol. 39: 2565-68.
  • Hryniewicz, K., K. Szczypa, A. Sulikowska, A. Jankowski, K. Betlejewska, and W. Hryniewicz. 2001.
    Antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial strains isolated from urinary tract infections in Poland.
    J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 47: 773-780.
  • Szczypa, K., K. Betlejewska, K. Nowak, and W. Hryniewicz. 2001.
    In vitro activity of linezolid against Gram-positive cocci isolated in Poland.
    J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 48: 932-935.
  • Krzysztoń-Russjan, J., M. Gniadkowski, H. Połowniak-Pracka, E. Hagmajer, and W. Hryniewicz. 2002.
    The first Staphylococcus aureus isolates with the reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in Poland.
    J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 50: 1031-1034.
  • Sabat, A., J. Krzysztoń-Russjan, W. Strzałka, R. Filipek, K. Kosowska, W. Hryniewicz, J. Travis, and J. Potempa. 2003.
    New method for typing Staphylococcus aureus strains: multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis of polymorphism and genetic relationships of clinical isolates.
    J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 1801-1804.
  • Vazquez, J. A., L. Arreaza, C. Block, I. Ehrhard, S. J. Gray, S. Heuberger, S. Hoffmann, P. Kriz, P. Nicolas, P. Olcen, A. Skoczynska, L. Spanjaard, P. Stefanelli, M. K. Taha, and G. Tzanakaki. 2003.
    Interlaboratory comparison of agar dilution and Etest methods for determining the MICs of antibiotics used in management of Neisseria meningitidis infections.
    Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47: 3430-3434.
  • Sulikowska, A., P. Grzesiowski, E. Sadowy, J. Fiett, and W. Hryniewicz. 2004.
    Characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis isolated from the nasopharynges of asymptomatic children and molecular analysis of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae strain replacement in the nasopharynx.
    J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 3942-3949.
  • Matynia B, Mlodzinska E, Hryniewicz W. 2005.
    Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus in Poland obtained by the National Quality Assurance Programme.
    Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 11: 379-85.
  • Skoczynska A, Lewandowska M, Klarowicz A, Hryniewicz W. 2005.
    Prevalence and serotype distribution of encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae isolates from patients with lower respiratory tract infections in Poland.
    J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 938-41.