Bacterial sputum microbiota and functional bacterial diversity in tuberculosis patients versus controls from Switzerland and Tanzania: impact on clinical presentation and outcomes (KEK 045/15)

The association of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV is well-established, but there is increasing evidence that other co-infections may also interact, such as viruses and intestinal helminths. More recently, the composition of the collective commensal flora in the airways - known as the microbiota - has been associated with disease status and clinical outcomes. The overall aim is to study the airway bacterial microbiota in TB cases and controls from a high and a low TB burden country. Specifically, we intend to determine the spectrum of the bacterial diversity and complexity of the microbiota in TB cases compared to controls from Tanzania with Switzerland; and to assess the impact on clinical presentation and outcomes. We will analyse the samples using 16S sequencing, and generate full metagenomics in a sub-set. Our results will provide a deep understanding of the role of airway microbiota in disease presentation. This project is funded by the Bernese Lung Association.

This is a collaboration between the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, the Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, and the Genomics Unit, FISABIO, University of Valencia, Spain