Obligate intracellular bacteria: From bench to field and bedside
Theo Murphy meeting organised by Dr Jing Jing Khoo, Dr Jeanne Salje and Dr Richard Hayward.
Obligate intracellular bacteria include a wide range of bacteria with medical and veterinary importance. Rickettsiales and Chlamydiales include numerous important human, livestock and wildlife pathogens. Other members include arthropod symbionts that could be implicated in the control of arthropod disease vectors. This meeting will be the first in the UK having researchers and clinicians from multi-disciplinary backgrounds (from infection biology to ecology) to share the latest insights and generate new research directions linking both pathogens and symbionts.
Programme
The programme, including speaker biographies and abstracts, will be available soon. Please note the programme may be subject to change.
Poster session
There will be a poster session from 4.30pm on Monday 3 November 2025. If you would like to present a poster, please submit your proposed title, abstract (up to 200 words), author list, and the name of the proposed presenter and institution to the Scientific Programmes team. Acceptances may be made on a rolling basis so we recommend submitting as soon as possible in case the session becomes full. Submissions made within one month of the meeting may not be included in the programme booklet.
Attending the event
This event is intended for researchers in relevant fields.
- Free to attend and in-person only
- When requesting an invitation, please briefly state your expertise and reasons for attending
- Requests are reviewed by the meeting organisers on a rolling basis. You will receive a link to register if your request has been successful
- Catering options will be available to purchase upon registering. Participants are responsible for booking their own accommodation. Please do not book accommodation until you have been invited to attend the meeting by the meeting organisers
Enquiries: Contact the Scientific Programmes team.
Organisers
Schedule
Chair
Professor Richard Birtles
University of Salford, UK
Professor Richard Birtles
University of Salford, UK
| 09:00-09:05 |
Welcome by the Royal Society & Dr Jing Jing Khoo
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| 09:10-09:30 |
Recent advances in our understanding of the biology and intracellular lifecycle of Orientia tsutsugamushi
Orientia tsutsugamushi is the etiological agent of scrub typhus, a neglected but life-threatening vector-borne disease that poses a growing threat to public health across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Unlike many intracellular bacteria, O. tsutsugamushi is an obligate cytoplasmic pathogen, replicating freely within the host cell cytosol rather than within a vacuolar compartment. This unusual lifestyle is supported by a highly non-canonical cell envelope whose structure and composition deviate markedly from classical Gram-negative paradigms. In this talk, I will highlight recent advances from our group that shed light on the unique biology of O. tsutsugamushi. Specifically, I will discuss our structural and functional analyses of the bacterial cell envelope, revealing adaptations that shape its interactions with host membranes and immune surveillance. I will also present new findings on the intracellular infection cycle, focusing on the molecular mechanisms governing bacterial trafficking along host microtubules, as well as the dynamic interplay between O. tsutsugamushi and key host cell factors. Together, these insights refine our understanding of how this highly adapted pathogen subverts eukaryotic cell biology to support survival and dissemination. 
Dr Jeanne SaljeUniversity of Cambridge, UK
Dr Jeanne SaljeUniversity of Cambridge, UK Dr. Salje is an Assistant Professor and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge University at the University of Cambridge, with joint appointments at the Department of Biochemistry, the Department of Pathology, and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. She is also a Fellow at St. John's College and an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok, Thailand. Her lab works on the cell biology of Orientia tsutsugamushi. |
| 09:30-09:50 |
Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen reveals an important role for sphingolipids in maintaining the integrity of the parasitophorous vacuole of Chlamydia trachomatis
The obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis employs the secreted effector CpoS to modulate host cellular membrane trafficking and suppress a host defense response that aborts intracellular pathogen growth by inducing host cell death. To identify the molecular basis of this defense evasion, we applied a host-directed genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening approach. Interestingly, this work revealed a CpoS-deficient mutant to exhibit a markedly increased dependence on host cellular synthesis of ceramides, the precursors of complex sphingolipids. Using novel microscopic reporters, we established that CpoS’ role in defense evasion involves preserving the integrity of Chlamydia’s parasitophorous vacuole (the inclusion) by ensuring an adequate sphingolipid supply. More specifically, we found that CpoS-deficient inclusions acquire reduced amounts of sphingolipids and become unstable, leading to the release of bacteria into the host cell cytosol, followed by inclusion rupture and host cell death. Exogenous addition of sphingosine stabilized CpoS-deficient inclusions, whereas disruption of host cellular ceramide synthesis destabilized wild-type inclusions. In combination, CpoS deficiency and impaired ceramide synthesis destabilized inclusions even earlier, resulting in infection clearance and host cell survival rather than host cell death. Overall, this study highlights how the vacuolar pathogen C. trachomatis maintains vacuole integrity by ensuring a steady sphingolipid supply, potentially offering inspiration and directions for future therapeutic strategies targeting parasitophorous vacuoles. 
Dr Barbara SixtUmeå University, Sweden
Dr Barbara SixtUmeå University, Sweden Dr. Barbara Sixt is a researcher specializing in the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, with a focus on its interactions with human host cells and the development of novel antichlamydial therapies. She earned her doctorate at the University of Vienna (Austria, 2008–2013), investigating the proteomic and metabolic profiles, as well as host interactions, of Chlamydia-related bacteria that naturally infect amoebae or arthropods. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Duke University (USA, 2013–2016) and INSERM (France, 2016–2018), using emerging molecular genetic tools for C. trachomatis to study effector functions and mechanisms of evasion of host cell-autonomous immunity. Since 2018, she has led a research group at Umeå University (Sweden), applying a multidisciplinary approach—including cell culture infection models, genetic and chemical screening, omics technologies, molecular genetic manipulation, biochemical assays, and microscopy—to investigate how Chlamydia maintains its intracellular niche and to identify novel antichlamydial compounds and targets. |
| 09:50-10:10 |
Discussion
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| 10:10-10:40 |
Break
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| 10:40-11:00 |
Host immune response to different Orientia strains - Talk title TBC
Professor Lynn SoongUniversity of Texas Medical Branch, US
Professor Lynn SoongUniversity of Texas Medical Branch, US |
| 11:00-11:20 |
Anaplasma - Talk title TBC
Dr Ian CadbyUniversity of Bristol, UK
Dr Ian CadbyUniversity of Bristol, UK |
| 11:20-11:40 |
Chlamydia - Talk title TBC
Dr Richard HaywardUniversity of Cambridge, UK
Dr Richard HaywardUniversity of Cambridge, UK |
| 11:40-12:00 |
Discussion
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Chair
Dr Alistair Darby
University of Liverpool, UK
Dr Alistair Darby
University of Liverpool, UK
Alistair is a genome scientist with research interests in the symbionts and pathogens of arthropod pests and disease vectors. From his PhD to present he has worked on non-culture viable microbes and used molecular/genomic approaches to describe and understand the biology of interactions between the host arthropod and the microbial partner. He is Co-Director at the Centre for Genomics Research, University of Liverpool, where he heads the single cell sequencing lab.
| 13:00-13:20 |
The Tick Cell Biobank: tick and insect cell lines for isolation, propagation and study of obligate intracellular arthropod-borne bacteria
Continuous cell lines derived from ticks and insects play an increasingly important role in many aspects of research on obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens and symbionts. The Tick Cell Biobank (TCB) was founded over 16 years ago at the University of Edinburgh, initially as a repository and source of tick cell lines for the international scientific community. More recently, the TCB has expanded to encompass cell lines derived from a range of insect genera including vectors of human, livestock and crop pathogens as well as more beneficial insects such as pollinators. The TCB generates, receives, stores and supplies arthropod cell lines to scientists worldwide, and provides live-streamed training and ongoing support, as some of these cell lines can be quite challenging to maintain. The TCB portfolio contains cell lines derived from most of the economically important tick-borne disease vectors including multiple species of the genera Ixodes, Rhipicephalus, Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Dermacentor, and a growing collection of insect cell lines derived from mosquitoes, biting midges, sand flies, tsetse flies, triatomine bugs, fruit flies and honey bees. Methods used in the TCB for generating arthropod cell lines and examples of their application in isolation, propagation and study of intracellular bacteria will be presented. Further information about the TCB and the currently-available cell lines is available on our website https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/research/facilities/tick-cell-biobank/. 
Dr Lesley Bell-SakyiUniversity of Liverpool, UK
Dr Lesley Bell-SakyiUniversity of Liverpool, UK Until her retirement earlier this year, Lesley Bell-Sakyi managed the Tick Cell Biobank, the world’s largest collection of continuous cell lines derived from ticks and other arthropods, which she co-founded in 2009. Her particular expertise lies in the establishment of continuous cell lines (74 to date) from embryonic, larval, nymphal and adult tissues of a range of tick and insect species, and the propagation and study of viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens in arthropod cell and organ culture systems. She has worked with intracellular bacteria of the genera Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma and Wolbachia. Lesley’s career spans 48 years of research on arthropods and arthropod-borne pathogens of livestock and humans at University of Edinburgh, (1977-2012), the Pirbright Institute (2012-2017) and University of Liverpool (since 2017). She holds degrees of BSc in Biology (Aberdeen, 1976), MPhil (Edinburgh, 1983) and PhD (Utrecht, 2004), and has co-authored >145 research papers. |
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| 13:20-13:40 |
AI in vector arthropod identification - Talk title TBC
Dr Ivo ElliotUniversity of Oxford, UK
Dr Ivo ElliotUniversity of Oxford, UK Ivo Elliott completed a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship and DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2019. His research investigated the clinical epidemiology and ecology of scrub typhus in humans, chiggers and rodents and took place in Thailand and Laos. Ivo is now an Infectious Diseases and Microbiology physician based in Oxford and is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Oxford. His research interests include the ecology of infectious diseases, in particular rodent and vector-borne zoonoses. He is active in the small world of Rickettsial research, supporting PhD students and collaborating with groups across the Asia-Pacific and in the Americas. |
| 13:40-14:00 |
Wolbachia in vector control - Talk title TBC
Dr Thomas WalkerUniversity of Warwick, UK
Dr Thomas WalkerUniversity of Warwick, UK Professor Walker is a Professor of Medical Entomology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick and his research group studies novel methods of control for insect-borne diseases such as malaria. The focus of their research is on the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia and they explore ways in which this bacterium can be used to reduce human pathogen transmission. His group undertakes both field and lab research and have worked on collaborative projects in numerous malaria-endemic countries including Cameroon, Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya and the DRC. Professor Walker's main interest is now leading the development of Wolbachia-based biological control methods for Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria following the success of his previous work as part of the World Mosquito Program. The Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquito line Professor Walker created were released into wild populations and has recently been shown to reduce the incidence of symptomatic dengue and hospitalisations by ~77% in a randomised control trial in Indonesia. These lines he created have now been released into more than 12 dengue endemic countries and are having significant effects on dengue transmission. Professor Walker's research interests in malaria have expanded to include collaborations on molecular insecticide resistance and the wider mosquito microbiome. He has also been involved in mosquito surveillance projects in Greece & Albania (West Nile virus), Ghana (malaria parasites), Ethiopia (yellow fever virus), Brazil (Zika virus), Tanzania (lymphatic filariasis parasites), St Lucia (arboviruses) and Madagascar (rift valley fever virus). Professor Walker is particularly interested in novel methods for vector and pathogen surveillance. In the lab they undertake molecular analysis of wild caught insect samples (mosquitoes, sandflies, ticks) and develop insect embryo injection protocols including projects supporting genetic modification of sandflies (vectors of leishmaniasis) and Triatomine bugs (vectors of Chagas disease). Professor Walkler's research has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, MRC, BBSRC, USAid, RSHTM, NHMRC and the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. |
| 14:00-14:20 |
Pathogens and symbionts in under-studied vectors - Talk title TBC
Dr Jing Jing KhooUniversity of Liverpool, UK
Dr Jing Jing KhooUniversity of Liverpool, UK |
| 14:20-14:40 |
Discussion
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| 14:40-15:10 |
Break
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Chair
Dr Jing Jing Khoo
University of Liverpool, UK
Dr Jing Jing Khoo
University of Liverpool, UK
| 15:10-16:30 |
10 selected posters from ECR
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| 16:30-18:00 |
Poster session and reception
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| 09:00-09:20 |
Ticks and their endosymbionts: from their accurate assignation to a mosaic of interactions based on tick metagenomes
Ticks harbour a wide range of pathogens, making them among the most important vectors affecting human and veterinary health. Positioned at the interface between humans, livestock, and wildlife, ticks provide opportunities for the emergence of zoonotic diseases. As obligate blood feeders, ticks rely on bacterial endosymbionts to obtain essential nutrients, such as B vitamins, absent from their restricted diet. Evidence of co-evolution and interactions between ticks and their endosymbionts can be observed in the genomes of these bacterial partners, yet most endosymbionts remain uncultivable in cell-free media, complicating full genome recovery. Tick metagenomics has emerged as a promising solution, offering a holistic view of tick-associated microbial communities and their complex interactions. Recent OMICS approaches have allowed us to characterise the virulence potential of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species identified in ticks and in both wildlife and a human in the Amazon biome of French Guiana. On another hand, we showed that some microbes initially identified as pathogens are in fact nutritional endosymbionts. Phylogenomic and genomic analyses allowed us to distinguish these endosymbionts from closely related pathogenic species, highlighting that the use of non-specialized methods can lead to misidentifications. Accurate assessment of infection risks is essential for designing effective prevention strategies. Lastly, through metagenomic analysis of the tick Hyalomma marginatum, we demonstrated that—unlike other tick species, which typically harbour a single lineage of nutritional symbionts—H. marginatum possesses a unique dual-partner nutritional symbiosis. The versatility of NGS technologies enables a valuable initial characterization of tick–microbe interactions across diverse contexts. 
Dr Marie BuysseFrench National Centre for Scientific Research, France
Dr Marie BuysseFrench National Centre for Scientific Research, France Dr. Marie Buysse earned her PhD in 2022 from the University of Montpellier, where she studied heritable endosymbiotic systems—both obligate and facultative—in ticks. Her research focuses on the mechanisms that sustain tick–microbe associations, their evolutionary dynamics, and the influence of microbial communities on tick biology and vector competence. She is currently based at the MIVEGEC research unit in Montpellier as a CNRS affiliated postdoc, where she continues to investigate host–microbe interactions, now broadening her work to include two additional key factors: wild animal hosts and human-impacted environments. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and bioinformatics, her work aims to better understand the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping tick-associated microbiomes. |
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| 09:20-09:40 |
Anaplasma - Talk title TBC
Professor Richard BirtlesUniversity of Salford, UK
Professor Richard BirtlesUniversity of Salford, UK |
| 09:40-10:00 |
Evolutionary genomics of Wolbachia in mosquito vectors and implications for disease control
Wolbachia, an intracellular bacterium with antiviral properties, is being harnessed worldwide to control mosquito-borne diseases. Yet our understanding of its natural diversity and evolutionary dynamics remains incomplete. Recent work has shown that Wolbachia strains deployed in Aedes aegypti release programmes to control dengue exhibit remarkable genome stability following their introduction in the field. However, in their native hosts, these same strains exist as distinct genomic variants that can differ in symbiont density and tolerance to environmental stress, with direct consequences for Wolbachia’s antiviral capacity. Building on these findings, we investigated the evolutionary genomics of Wolbachia in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, which naturally harbours a dual infection with strains wAlbA and wAlbB. Using genome-wide analyses of Wolbachia sampled across the native and invasive ranges of Ae. albopictus, we show that the wAlbA / wAlbB superinfection arose ~6,000-9,000 years ago and has since co-diverged with host populations, consistent with strict maternal transmission of the symbiont. Despite the close phylogenetic relationship among samples, we uncover striking heterogeneity in Wolbachia density, including infections persisting at extremely low levels as well as extensive gene content variation within wAlbB, a strain currently used in disease control. Some of the variable genes are linked to the ability of Wolbachia to spread through host populations and many reside in repetitive or prophage regions, implicating transposable elements as key drivers of structural genomic change. Taken together, our findings highlight that both standing genetic variation within strains and long-term evolutionary processes shape the ecology of Wolbachia in vector species. These insights emphasize the need to integrate genomic, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives when selecting and optimizing Wolbachia strains for disease control programmes. 
Dr Julien MartinezUniversity of Glasgow, UK
Dr Julien MartinezUniversity of Glasgow, UK Dr. Julien Martinez is an evolutionary geneticist studying the genomics and evolution of Wolbachia symbionts. During his postdoctoral research at the Universities of Cambridge and Glasgow, he investigated the genomic basis of Wolbachia’s antiviral phenotype and symbiont density regulation. His work has provided key insights into symbiosis evolution and informed global programmes deploying Wolbachia to control mosquito-borne viruses. He recently joined the Sanger Institute, where he is exploring the diversity and evolution of bacterial symbionts as part of the Tree of Life Programme. |
| 10:00-10:20 |
Discussion
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| 10:20-10:50 |
Break
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Chair
Professor Paul Newton
University of Oxford, UK
Professor Paul Newton
University of Oxford, UK
Paul Newton is an infectious disease doctor and ex-zoologist who works on Asian rickettsial pathogens, their history, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. He has lived and worked in India, Thailand and Lao PDR. With Lao colleagues he set up the Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Research Unit, embedded within the Microbiology Laboratory of Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR, that investigated rickettsial disease within the country.
| 10:50-11:10 |
Field epidemiology - Talk title TBC
Professor Pierre-Edouard FournierAix-Marseille Université, France
Professor Pierre-Edouard FournierAix-Marseille Université, France |
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| 11:10-11:30 |
Vector and disease ecology - Talk title TBC
Dr Kayleigh HansfordUK Health Security Agency, UK
Dr Kayleigh HansfordUK Health Security Agency, UK |
| 11:30-11:50 |
Ecology of Orentia tsutsugamushi in a tropical ecosystem from the perspective of host-vector associations in a changing landscape
Introduction. Orientia tsutsugamushi, the obligate intracellular bacterium responsible for scrub typhus, persists within a complex ecological triad involving vertebrate hosts, chigger mite vectors, and the surrounding environment. Despite its significant public health impact in the Asia-Pacific region, ecological insights into its transmission dynamics remain limited, particularly in tropical biodiversity hotspots such as Malaysia. Methodology. Hosts, including small mammals (i.e., Rodentia and Scandentia) and birds (i.e., passerines, corvids, shorebirds, and wild or domestic galliform birds) from forests, village agricultural (i.e., paddy fields), and urban environments, as well as large-scale oil palm plantations across Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, were trapped, handled, and examined following humane protocols. Blood and tissues (i.e., liver, spleen, kidney, and lung) were harvested only from galliform birds and corvids. Chiggers were collected from all hosts captured during this study. DNAs of chiggers, tissues, and blood samples were extracted using an in-house optimised protocol and subsequently analysed via nested PCR targeting the TSA47 gene. Landscapes-host-vector-pathogen relationships were analysed using bipartite network analysis to uncover their natural associations. Results. Overall, 482 hosts were examined and processed. Of these, 1,020 chiggers were collected from small mammals, passerine birds, and wild Galliformes, along with 892 samples of blood (n=223) and tissues (n=669) from crows and domestic birds, which were used for DNA extraction and screened for O. tsutsugamushi. This yielded three positive results (6.67%) in chigger pools associated with small mammals. In contrast, none of the bird-associated chigger pools or corvid samples tested positive. Screening of galliform organ samples identified two positive samples (2.9%). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that sequences from galliform organs (lungs; domestic chicken, Pahang, and liver; red junglefowl, Johor) were closely related to the Karp strain. Three sequences from small mammal-associated chigger pools showed genetic diversity: (i) one sequence was closely related to the TH1817 strain and UT418 isolate from Thailand (L. deliense; T. glis; Pasir Raja; Forest), (ii) another formed a clade with the CRF79 isolate (L. arenicola; R. tanezumi R3 mitotype; Kota Tinggi; oil palm plantation), and (iii) the third sequence did not cluster with any known reference strains or isolates, suggesting a potentially distinct lineage (L. deliense; R. tiomanicus; Kota Tinggi; oil palm plantation). Analysis of natural associations between host, vector, pathogens, and landscapes is ongoing. Conclusion. Our findings highlight the ecological complexity underpinning O. tsutsugamushi maintenance and transmission in tropical ecosystems. The presence of human-pathogenic strains in both wildlife-associated vectors and domestic poultry underscores the need to incorporate environmental surveillance into One Health strategies. Understanding these host–vector–pathogen dynamics is essential for anticipating the emergence and spread of intracellular zoonotic pathogens in rapidly changing landscapes. 
Dr Zubaidah Ya’cobUniversiti Malaya, Malaysia
Dr Zubaidah Ya’cobUniversiti Malaya, Malaysia Dr. Zubaidah Ya’cob is a Senior Lecturer at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research & Education Centre (TIDREC), Universiti Malaya, and an entomologist specializing in public health arthropods that transmit vector-borne bacterial pathogens. Her research focuses on disease vectors such as ticks, chiggers, sandflies, and blackflies, with particular emphasis on their biology, ecology, and roles in the transmission of pathogens responsible for scrub typhus, rickettsioses, onchocerciasis, and leishmaniasis. Dr. Zubaidah’s work has generated significant insights into vector-pathogen interactions and transmission mechanisms, supporting more effective public health strategies for disease control and prevention. Her scholarly contributions are reflected in a growing portfolio of peer-reviewed publications and national and international collaborative research projects. |
| 11:50-12:10 |
Discussion
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| 13:30-13:50 |
Diagnostic challenges and management of rickettsial diseases: An Indian experience
Rickettsial diseases are a significant but often underrecognized cause of acute febrile illness across various regions in India. The diagnostic challenges stem from their highly variable and non-specific clinical presentations, which frequently mimic other common infections such as Dengue, Malaria, and Leptospirosis. Early clinical features include fever, headache and rash that are difficult to distinguish from other acute febrile illnesses. This leads to a delay in diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings without sensitive and specific tests. The commonly used Weil-Felix test, though inexpensive and accessible, lacks both sensitivity and specificity and may yield false negatives in early disease diagnosis. To address the diagnostic gap, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has emerged as a valuable tool for the serodiagnosis of rickettsial diseases in India. ELISA offers improved sensitivity and specificity over the Weil-Felix test, allowing for more reliable detection of anti-rickettsial antibodies, especially in the later stages of infection. Advanced serological and molecular methods, such as indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and PCR, provide superior diagnostic accuracy, but their availability is mostly restricted to tertiary care centres in urban areas. The management of rickettsial diseases in India is further complicated by these diagnostic delays. However, empirical antibiotic therapy primarily with doxycycline proves highly effective when initiated promptly, drastically reducing morbidity and mortality rates. Notably, children and individuals in rural and semi-urban regions bear a disproportionate burden. The Indian experience highlights the critical need for greater clinical suspicion, improved access to accurate diagnostics, and robust public health surveillance. Proactive education of healthcare providers and guideline-based empirical therapy in suspected cases are essential strategies for successful management, emphasising a continued commitment to bridging gaps in diagnosis and care.
Professor Siraj Ahmed KhanIndian Council of Medical Research, India
Professor Siraj Ahmed KhanIndian Council of Medical Research, India |
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| 13:50-14:10 |
Clinical diagnostics - Talk title TBC
Dr Cecilia KatoCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, US
Dr Cecilia KatoCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, US |
| 14:10-14:30 |
Field/clinical epidemiology - Talk title TBC
Dr Aránzazu Portillo BarrioSan Pedro University Hospital-CIBIR, Spain
Dr Aránzazu Portillo BarrioSan Pedro University Hospital-CIBIR, Spain Dr Aránzazu Portillo is Responsible for the Special Pathogens Laboratory-Centre of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-Borne Diseases (CRETAV), attached to the Infectious Diseases Department from San Pedro University Hospital-Centre for Biomedical Research of La Rioja, and located in Logroño (Spain). She was the person in charge of starting up this laboratory (CRETAV) from its beginnings in 2002. Today, CRETAV includes a biosafety level 3 facility and serves as one of the reference laboratories within the Spanish Network of Biological Alert Laboratories (RELAB), under the Ministry of Science. Dr Portillo is focused on zoonoses research under a 'One Health' prism; specifically, on emerging/remerging pathogens and diseases transmitted by arthropods, such as rickettsiosis, Lyme borreliosis, bartonella infection, anaplasmosis or Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), among others. She leads the development of molecular, serologic and culture methods to support the diagnosis of these infections within a multidisciplinary workgroup. Her contributions in collaboration with other team members, range from the implication of novel bacteria as human pathogens (Rickettsia rioja, now called Rickettsia riojensis) to the first detection of emerging microorganisms in ticks in our country, including FHCC virus or Neoehrichia mikurensis, among others. Dr Portillo has participated in the description of new bacteria (e.g.: Rickettsia colombiensis, Rickettsia vini) and of large patient cohorts with tick-borne diseases, such as DEBONEL and Rickettsia sibirica mongolitimonae infection. She has contributed to characterize the microbiome of arthropods, and worked on the application of cutting-edge '-omic’ techniques to improve diagnosis accuracy. Involved in competitive research projects, consortia and networks, currently she is the principal investigator of a multicentric national project to assess the risk of suffering tick-borne diseases in urban areas across Spain. With a global perspective on emerging health threats, she provides support from the research lab to assisting clinical activities, with improvements in the hospital environment related to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of vector-borne diseases, primarily those transmitted by ticks, but also by fleas, trombiculid mites, lice, and others. Dr Portillo has coordinated and/or contributed to the development of national and international diagnostic guidelines, consensus documents, and co-authored the first and subsequent reports on FHCC risk for public health authorities. Beyond the hospital, she is actively involved in promoting health education through initiatives in schools, community associations, and health centers. Dr Portillo serves as a reviewer and editor for scientific journals, a evaluator of international, national and regional research proposals, and currently holds the position of President of the Chlamydia, Coxiella, Anaplasma, Rickettsia Study Group of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). In addition to research, she has maintained an active teaching role at the University of La Rioja with longstanding commitment to training and mentoring students and research staff. |
| 14:30-14:50 |
Scrub typhus in Chile: update and implications
The discovery of scrub typhus cases in southern Chile has changed the panorama of this important rickettsiosis, which was firmly associated to a certain bacterial species (Orientia tsutsugamushi) and a certain genus of trombiculid mites (Leptotrombidium) in Asia-Pacific. By now, we know that scrub typhus in Chile is caused by a different species of Orientia, transmitted by distinct genera of chigger mites. Data of >200 confirmed cases now allows a first clinical analysis of Chilean scrub typhus. Recent studies in other American countries and in Africa suggest a wider geographical distribution of potentially pathogenic Orientia species. The findings in Chile underscore the importance to maintain vigilant and question traditional concepts, especially in the field of rickettsial infections and other vector-borne diseases.
Dr Thomas WeitzelUniversidad del Desarrollo, South America
Dr Thomas WeitzelUniversidad del Desarrollo, South America Thomas Weitzel is an infectious diseases physician, specialized in Tropical and Travel Medicine. He obtained his medical training in Clinical Microbiology, Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Tropical Medicine in Germany. From 2000 to 2009, he was Head of the Diagnostic Laboratory and lecturer at the Institute of International Health, Charité Berlin. Since 2007 he lives and works in Santiago, Chile. Currently, he is Head of the Travel Medicine Program at Clínica Alemana and faculty member of the medical school, Universidad del Desarrollo, where he was appointed Full Professor in 2015. He is member and co-founder of the Chilean Rickettsia and Zoonosis Research Group and serves as guest lecturer and scientist at the Charité Center for Global Health in Berlin. |
| 15:10-15:20 |
Closing remarks
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| 15:20-15:45 |
Closing coffee
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