Objective In china a large fraction of the population is infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis with 500.000 new cases every year. The attenuated Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the only available vaccine against TB. However this vaccine does not provide consistent protection against TB. Knowledge of the diversity of the M tuberculosis strains is of major importance to identify M. tuberculosis antigens and epitopes for new protective vaccines and specific diagnostic reagents. Previous work as well as our unpublished study on 70 Chinese M. tuberculosis strains showed that the Beijing genotype is prevalent in China. Strains of a similar genotype are found worldwide (particularly in Eastern Europe and in the countries of the former Soviet Union) and are often associated with multidrug-resistance. The very rapid and efficient dispersion of the Beijing strains suggest that they may have developed selective advantages. We are proposing to organize the analysis of a large collection of strains (3000) from the 31 Provinces of China. The data will be compared to the characteristics of strains collected in other countries. This will produce knowledge on the diversity of Chinese TB strains and show whether the dispersion of the Beijing type is of clonal origin. The present SSA aims at preparing the project in collaboration with Chinese scientists, transfer the technical knowledge, follow the progress of the experiments, collect the data in a shared-database and produce population analyses. The different partners of the consortium will first define the characteristics of the population to be included in the protocol and choose the appropriate methods for genotyping and multidrug-resistance (MDR) assessment. Data on the BCG status, age and gender of the patients as well as other relevant clinical information will be collected. Technical knowledge will be transmitted when necessary to Chinese laboratories through exchanges. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepneumologytuberculosismedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistancemultidrug resistance Keywords Beijing genotype China Mycobacterium tuberculosis VNTR typing diversity molecular epidemiology multidrug-resistance Programme(s) FP6-LIFESCIHEALTH - Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health: Thematic Priority 1 under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) LSH-2003-2.3.0-2 - Coordination of European research on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis at the global level LSH-2003-1.1.3-2 - Standardisation and integration of genomic and phenotypic information to characterise bacterial diversity with relevance to human health Call for proposal FP6-2003-LIFESCIHEALTH-3 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme SSA - Specific Support Action Coordinator UNIVERSITE PARIS-SUD EU contribution No data Address 15 rue Georges Clémenceau ORSAY France See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT Netherlands EU contribution No data Address Antoni van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9 BILTHOVEN See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data