19 / 50
MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
presentation
The Unit of Medical Microbiology devel-
ops basic and applied research, post-
graduation training and services to the
community in complementary fields of Mi-
crobiology (Leptospirosis and Lyme dis-
ease, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Sexu-
ally Transmitted Diseases and Virology).
The achievements and outputs listed
below have special focus on TB, HIV,
viral gastroenteritis, sexually transmitted
diseases and vector-borne diseases.
Members participated in post-gradua-
tion 2
nd
and 3
rd
cycle teaching activities,
as well as in short courses promoted
nationally and internationally (mainly in
the Community of Portuguese Speaking
Countries).
MAIN RESEARCH topics
In 2015, 34 articles were published (an
average of three articles per researcher)
in journals whose impact factor (IF) varied
from 0.592 to 14.429 (average: 3.607) and
two chapters of international books. Other
indices of productivity in bacteriology, my-
cology and virology, are reflected in the fol-
lowing research highlights.
Molecular epidemiological studies of HIV
and
M. tuberculosis
, based on new tech-
nologies, including WGS (whole genome
sequencing) enabled a description of
new patterns of geographic spread and
TOP 5 PUBLICAÇÕES
PUBLICATIONS
Costa SS, Viveiros M, Rosato AE, Melo-
-Cristino J, Couto I:
Impact of efflux in the
development of multidrug resistance
phenotypes in
Staphylococcus aureus
.
BMC Microbiol 2015, 15:232.
Istrate C, Sharma S, Nordgren J, Videira
e Castro S, Lopes A, Piedade J, Zaky A,
Lima A, Neves E, Veiga J, Esteves A:
High
rate of detection of G8P[6] rotavirus
in children with acute gastroenteritis
in São Tomé and Príncipe
. Archives of
Virology 2015, 160: 423-428.
Parreira R, Sousa CA:
Dengue fever
in Europe: could there be an epidemic
in the future?
Expert Review of Anti-
Infective Therapy 2015, 13:29-40.
Rabna P, Ramos J, Ponce G, Sanca L,
Mane M, Armada A, Machado D, Vieira
F, Gomes VF, Martins E, Colombatti R,
Riccardi F, Perdigao J, Sotero J, Portugal I,
Couto I, Atouguia J, Rodrigues A, Viveiros
M:
Direct Detection by the Xpert MTB/
RIF Assay and Characterization of Multi
and Poly Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa
. Plos
One 2015, 10.
Nunes M, Parreira R, Lopes N, Maia C,
Carreira T, Sousa C, Faria S, Campino L,
Vieira ML:
Molecular Identification of
Borrelia miyamotoi
in Ixodes ricinus
from Portugal
. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic
Diseases 2015, 15:515-517.
evolution of HIV and MDR-TB infection
worldwide. These studies also enabled the
identification of several mutations leading
to drug resistance in these microorgan-
isms. In Guinea-Bissau new molecular
technologies were implemented for early
detection of MDR-TB as well as charac-
terization of drug resistant
M. tuberculosis
strains and efflux-mediated resistance to
antimicrobials in
Staphylococcus aureus
.
Characterisation of
N. gonorrhoeae
and
C. trachomatis
infection in users of HIV
and other STI screening unit. Molecular
characterisation of
N. gonorrhoeae
-re-
sistant isolates, segregated in a popula-
tion of men who have sex with other men
in the Lisbon area.
Borrelia miyamotoi
was detected, for the
first time, in nymph of
I. ricinus
ticks col-
lected in the Lisboa district. The main
risk factors for leptospirosis and the main
reservoirs for species of pathogenic spi-
rochetes of
Leptospira
genus were de-
tected on the Island of Mozambique (Mo-
zambique) for the first time.
Molecular and conventional detection
and identification of fungi causing in-
fection in humans. Study of suscep-
tibility and resistance mechanisms of
pathogenic yeasts to antifungal drugs.
Following the Zika outbreak in Brazil, the
molecular diagnosis of Zika virus infec-
tion was established at the IHMT and
diagnostic tools made available for the
early implementation of these tests at the
Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio
Preto (Brazil). Bunyavirus screening for
ticks. New adenoviruses were identified
and isolated from primates in the Lisbon
Zoo. Norovirus infection and the role of
host genetic factors were studied in Por-
tuguese elderly people.
19