Grant: China-Canada Joint Health Research Initiative

Infections caused by Streptococcus suis (S. suis) are considered a global and an economical problem in the swine industry. Moreover, it is also an emerging disease that is transmitted from pigs to humans. In fact, it is one of the most important causes of adult meningitis in Asia. During the last years, different epidemic episodes took place in China with serious cases of not only meningitis but also general infection that ended with death of the affected persons in a few hours: a shock syndrome called streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome. When infected, the human body reacts with inflammation (such as fever) to combat and kill the pathogen. However, some bacterial pathogens will not die and will, indeed, induce such a strong inflammation that it does not serve anymore to the individual and becomes detrimental to the patient. In fact, it can be responsible for the clinical signs and death. The pathogen uses the host (patient) to induce the severity of the disease. We will study (using a mouse model) how animals respond to the infection and why some strains (Chinese) seems to kill animals by shock very fast by inducing exaggerated inflammation. We will also study what exactly happens in the brain of animals infected by S. suis. Since it is not easy to clearly differentiate strains with high virulent potential, we will develop a wide genome analysis system to be able to clearly differentiate one strain from another. This is extremely important since from outside all strains are very similar. We have a highly complemented team: worldwide recognized experts on S. suis infection, international recognized specialist in brain inflammation and a Chinese team with a great expertise on genetic studies on the evolution of bacterial pathogens. The combination of Canadian expertise and the fluid communication with our colleagues in China are unique and place our team at the front line on this research.