Genotyping of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from pulmonary infections in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients

Hilliam, Yasmin (2015) Genotyping of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from pulmonary infections in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients. Master of Philosophy thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBr) is a chronic, progressive respiratory disease characterised by irreversible widening of the airways and thickening of the bronchial walls. There have been large amounts of research into cystic fibrosis (CF) and very little into NCFBr, despite its prevalence in the UK having been predicted to be >10 times that of CF. The leading cause of mortality in CF is chronic bacterial lung infection, particularly with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Transmissible strains of P. aeruginosa are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in CF. Chronic P. aeruginosa infections are also known to adversely affect the health of NCFBr patients although very little in-depth research has been performed. This work aims to investigate the diversity of populations of P. aeruginosa in NCFBr patients attending bronchiectasis services throughout England and Wales. The maintenance of P. aeruginosa strains in long-term infections in the lungs of NCFBr patients were investigated using an array tube genotyping system. The majority (15) of the 20 patients studied were found to maintain the same strain of P. aeruginosa throughout the course of infection. The population structure of P. aeruginosa isolates from NCFBr patients was investigated using both the array tube system and whole genome sequencing. The population of isolates from NCFBr patients was found to be distributed evenly throughout the general population of P. aeruginosa. Whole genome sequencing was also used to investigate the diversity of P. aeruginosa isolates from 23 individual patients and it was shown that in the majority of these (16) that all isolates were the same strain and closely related to one another. Only one of the 157 NCFBr patients was found to harbour a transmissible strain of P. aeruginosa which is a significantly lower prevalence than in CF. There is still a large disparity between our knowledge regarding CF and NCFBr and so further research into P. aeruginosa infections in NCFBr is required.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master of Philosophy)
Additional Information:	Date: 2015-10 (completed)
Subjects:	?? QR ??
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2016 13:20
Last Modified:	16 Dec 2022 04:44
DOI:	10.17638/02043180
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2043180