National Reference Laboratory for Streptococcal Infections

 

The laboratory is accredited to ČSN EN ISO 15189 as a public health laboratory by the Czech Accreditation Institute.

 

Species-level identification of equivocal streptococcal and enterococcal strains submitted by microbiological and clinical laboratories throughout the Czech Republic, as well as by the National Reference Laboratory for Antibiotics;

Assignment of streptococcal and enterococcal strains to serological groups A-Z;

Serotyping and molecular genetic typing of strains. The results are relevant for epidemiological purposes, detection of the source of infection and routes of its spread, and the study of serotype distribution as a clue to the development of type-specific vaccines and the analysis of vaccination strategy outcomes;

1. pneumoniae – PCR and Quellung reaction;
2. agalactiae – latex agglutination and multiplex PCR;
3. pyogenes – sequencing analysis of the emm gene encoding M protein;

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of selected strains of Streptococcus spp.;

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of selected streptococci isolated from invasive disease;

Detection of virulence factor genes in selected S. pyogenes strains by the real-time PCR;

The National Reference Laboratory (NRL) is the guarantor of the national programme for the surveillance of invasive diseases caused by S. pneumoniae;

Whenever appropriate, the NRL organizes the programme of active surveillance of invasive disease caused by S. pyogenes and of neonatal infections caused by S. agalactiae;

The NRL holds the National Collection of Type Cultures for Streptococci and Enterococci. It provides these cultures to laboratories in both the Czech Republic and other countries.

The NRL holds a collection of streptococcal and enterococcal strains isolated from invasive disease;

Collaboration with the National Reference Laboratory for Antibiotics in monitoring the antimicrobial susceptibility of S. pneumoniae;

Implementation of new diagnostic methods based on current scientific knowledge;

Successful participation in the international External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS);

Provision of expert consultation services;

Development, adaptation, and implementation of new laboratory methods;

Participation in research and grant projects;

Lecturing, teaching, publication, and consulting activities;

Participation in European research projects within ECDC activities, identification of strains for international laboratories, and training of international trainees;

Reporting data to the ECDC EpiPulse Cases platform (European surveillance portal for infectious diseases);

Reporting data to the international PubMLST database (Public database for molecular typing and microbial genome diversity);

Participation in international projects and networks: EU-IBD (European Invasive Bacterial Disease Surveillance Network), PSERENADE (Pneumococcal Serotype Replacement and Distribution Estimation), IRIS (Invasive Respiratory Infections Surveillance), and IPD-VEN (Invasive Pneumococcal Disease – Vaccine Evaluation Network).