- Research
Members of the Pasteur Network, including INRS, are joining forces to combat this re-emerging disease present worldwide.
Leptospirosis research symposium organized by the INRS Research Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie.
Over thirty infectious disease specialists from around the globe and partners from the pharmaceutical industry gathered from January 13th to 15th in Québec for a leptospirosis research symposium organized by the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) Research Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie. The event officially marked the launch of the Pasteur International Joint Research Unit (PIU) “LePtospirosis Pasteur NETwork (LePNet).”
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by bacteria and transmitted through contact with water, soil, or food contaminated with the urine of infected animals, particularly rats. This re-emerging disease, driven by the growing urbanization of cities and extreme weather events causing floods, is present worldwide, with a predominance in tropical regions. In humans, leptospirosis is often mild but can lead to kidney failure, causing death in 5 to 20% of cases.
The PIU LePNet brings together five teams from the Pasteur Network led by Alejandro Buschiazzo from the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Frédéric Veyrier from the Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Center, Roman Thibeaux from the Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie, and Catherine Werts and Mathieu Picardeau from the Institut Pasteur (located in Paris, France).
Other international teams are collaborating on the project, thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health in the United States and the Institut Pasteur (PTR or Programmes Transversaux de Recherche).
The symposium highlighted the numerous challenges in combating leptospirosis, a re-emerging zoonosis, and emphasized the strengths of the Pasteur Network. Thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, the network is well-positioned to address the research challenges of this neglected disease. During the three-day symposium, around fifteen scientific presentations and several workshops allowed participants to discuss recent advances in the virulence mechanisms of leptospires, the immune response, vaccination, and the epidemiology of the disease.
“This interdisciplinary research consortium enables each group to contribute its complementary expertise, whether in genomics, immunology or epidemiology, and to catalyze this teamwork. It’s an invaluable opportunity for our laboratory at INRS to contribute to global leptospirosis research alongside our international collaborators in the Pasteur Network.”
Frédéric Veyrier, INRS professor and specialist in genomic bacteriology and evolution
The event also provided an opportunity to strengthen scientific collaborations between the teams in the Pasteur Network and their international partners, fostering the formation of this unique consortium dedicated to leptospirosis research.
The event was co-organized by Fondation Armand-Frappier and INRS with the support of Espoir Therapeutics, Glycovax Pharma, Infectiopôle and Moderna.
Did you know?
The Pasteur Network is an alliance of 32 institutes spanning 25 countries across 5 continents, fostering a dynamic and diverse community of knowledge and expertise. The INRS Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre is the only member of the Pasteur Network in North America.
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