The study which is an initiative from the Scientific Direction of Fondation Mérieux are part of the research priorities of the GABRIEL network. It is carried out under the GCPs (Good Clinical Practices) guidelines, in a collaborative research programme with 9 emerging and developing countries (Brazil, Cambodia, China, Haiti, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Paraguay).
The objectives of this pilot study are to:
- Identify the bacterial and viral etiological agents at the cause of pneumonia and its spread in spread in the different targeted regions;
- Identify the bacterial and viral agents involved in pneumonia and the distribution of these agents in the different world regions;
- Study the association between viruses and bacteria in patients affected by pneumonia and to determine whether a viral / bacterial co-infection is a risk factor in the severity of the disease;
- Establish a correlation between the type of pathogens identified (bacterial or viral) and the biomarkers: C reactive protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT);
- Identify the serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in nasopharyngeal and blood samples;
- Identify and characterize new infectious agents or mutants / variants (bacterial or viral) in undiagnoses samples.
All the protocols proposed in this study have been developed or co-developed in the Emerging Pathogens Laboratory in Lyon and then transferred to the partners. The scientists participating to this study have been or will be trained in this laboratory or in the Christophe Mérieux Laboratory in Beijing.
This pilot study has been validated by the GABRIEL Network Research Committee:
Dr. Gláucia Paranhos-Baccalà (Project Leader and Research Director)
Dr. Valentina Picot (Study Coordinator)
Dr. Florence Komurian-Pradel (GABRIEL Network Manager)