DeSCID is evaluating interventions designed for infectious disease prevention, control, and care. DeSCID is focusing on chronic viral infections in axis 1 and on healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance in axis 2.
The goal of axis 1 is to respond to questions regarding chronic infectious disease prevention, control and care at an individual level but also at a population level. It assesses the impact of these strategies in HIV/AIDS (HIV-1 and HIV-2), chronic hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis B, and HPV infections, in terms of effectiveness, but also other outcomes such as drug resistance, cost and quality of life. It targets short and long-term objectives; in Northern and Southern countries. Axis 1 also focusses on HIV viral diversity and pathogenesis. For achieving these objectives, different research tools are used such as traditional epidemiological studies, clinical trials, meta-analysis, pharmacology, molecular biology, bioinformatics/genomics or mathematical modelling.
In axis 2, research interests are the epidemiology and control of multiple-resistant bacteria in the hospital setting (ESBL, MRSA and highly-resistant bacteria) using epidemiological tools, mathematical and statistical modelling, and behavioural approaches. Other research topics include new techniques for assessing infectious risk and interaction between patients and healthcare workers; behavioural approach of infection control; methodological aspects of surveillance and reporting of surgical site infection; and prevention of healthcare-associated infections in the ICU, i.e. catheter-related infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
