Contact
Foodborne Zoonoses and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre
Universidad Complutense
Av. Puerta de Hierro s/n. 28040 Madrid. Spain
e-mail:
Head office phone: (+34) 913 944 083
Foodborne Zoonoses and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit became operational in 1996 based on the Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (VAV). Nowadays, it includes the study of different food-borne zoonoses (Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Yersinia, Staphylococcus aureus ...). It is also responsible for analyzing antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic organisms, commensal bacteria of the intestinal tract or clinical isolates. The group has several lines of research on the characterization of important foodborne pathogens for Public Health and the mechanisms involved in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance by using molecular tecniques as well as sequencing. It is outstanding the leadership of this group in international research projects and its collaboration with Public Administrations and companies. ZTA gives support to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA) and the Community of Madrid developing surveillance programs for zoonotic agents.
Research
Research lines:
- Genetic characterization of antimicrobial resistance (ZTA)
- Genetic characterization of microorganisms populations (ZTA)
- Foodborne zoonoses in animals and animal derived products intended for human consumption (eggs, meat..), as well as water samples, mainly Salmonella spp. Campylobacter spp., Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Yersinia enterocolitica (ZTA)
- Antimicrobial resistances in pathogens, food-borne zoonotic agents and indicators (ZTA)
Next scientific publications:
- Sarker J., Ben Yahia H., Saba-Shirvan A., Corvec S., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Calvez S. and Navarro-Gonzalez N.. Understanding the risks associated with recirculating aquaculture systems: identification of Enterococcus species, persistence and antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Aquaculture Research. In Press (A)
Last scientific publications:
- Serna C., Pulido-Vadillo M., Matamoros BR., Fernandez-Favieres FJ., Montero N., Garcia-Berdun C., Garcia ME., Blanco JL., Delgado-Blas JF. and Gonzalez-Zorn B.. Persistent multispecies dissemination of armA-carrying IncR plasmids among clinical and environmental bacterial populations in a Spanish veterinary hospital. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, e0067325. 2025. (A)
- Maguire M., Serna C., Delgado-Blas JF., Clarke C., DeLappe N., Cormican M., Coughlan SC., Miliotis G., Gonzalez-Zorn B. and Burke LP.. Healthcare-related transmission of mobile genetic elements co-carrying blaNDM and 16S rRNA methyltransferase genes in multiple Enterobacterales. Microbial Genomics, 11(8):001473. 2025. (A)
- Serna C., Matamoros BR., Pulido-Vadillo M., Delgado-Blas JF., Jansen RR., Willems RJL., Almeida A., Harrison EM., Dupuy B., Coll F. and Gonzalez-Zorn B.. Global dissemination of npmA mediated pan-aminoglycoside resistance via a mobile genetic element in Gram-positive bacteria. Nature Communications, 16(1):6360. 2025. (A)
- Rebollada A., Vela AI., Canales R., Romani-Cremaschi U., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Buendia A., Perez-Sancho M., Dominguez L., Fernandez-Garayzabal JF. and Rodriguez-Bertos A.. Reproductive loss attributed to Lactococcus petauri infection in a black-and-white ruffed lemur. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation , 37(3):471-474. 2025. (A)
- Ortiz-Miravalles L., Prieto A., Kieffer N., Vergara E., Canton R., San Millan A., Baquero F., Hipolito A. and Escudero JA.. Effect of oxygen on antimicrobial resistance genes from a one health perspective. Science of the total environment, 979:179523. 2025. (A)
Last PhD thesis:
- Vicente López Chavarrías. Epidemiology of resistance to aminoglycosides and macrolides in thermotolerant Campylobacter in livestock in Spain. 2025. (Doctorado Internacional)
- Bosco Matamoros Rodríguez. Analysis of pan-resistance to aminoglycosides mediated by the NPM methyltransferases using metagenomics and single-cell genomics. 2025. (Doctorado Internacional)
- Carlos Serna Bernaldo. Impact of mobile genetic elements on the dissemination of 16S rRNA methyltransferases, an emerging mechanism of aminoglycoside resistance. 2025. (Doctorado Internacional)
- Pedro Miguela Villoldo. Identification and characterization of colistin resistant bacteria from food-producing animals in Spain. Assessment of its persistance and possible dissemination. 2023. (Doctorado Internacional)
- José Francisco Delgado Blas. Emergencia y diseminación de mecanismos de resistencia a antibióticos de último recurso en bacterias humanas, animales y ambientales. 2021. (Doctorado Europeo)
Outreach
Last outreach publications:
- Leon B., Wiederkehr-Bruno CM., Cruz R., Cordero M., Chinchilla A., Solorzano-Scott T., Brenes L. and Aguilar-Vargas F.. First detection of canine distemper virus infection in variegated squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides) and porcupines (Coendou mexicanus) in Costa Rica. Bulgarian Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 1-12, Trakia University Stara Zagora. 2026.
- Mazariegos M.. Funciones y actuaciones del Veterinario Designado. Ciencia y Tecnología en Investigación Animal. Ed. 1. Universidad de Alcalá. 2022.
- Ugarte-Ruiz M., Alvarez J., Escudero JA., Gonzalez-Zorn B., Miguela-Villoldo P., Moreno MA., Rebollada A., Rodriguez-Bertos A. and Dominguez L.. Resistencias antimicrobianas y One Health. REDRISA, Vetdivulga. 2020.
- Juez-García M., Alvarez J., Sotodosos-Carpintero M. and Ugarte-Ruiz M.. Asociación entre resistencia a antibióticos y serotipos en Salmonella de transmisión alimentaria. Revista Madrileña de Salud Pública, 4(5):1-8, Dirección General de Salud Pública de la Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid. 2020.
- Gonzalez-Zorn B.. Listeriosis: así es la alarma sanitaria del verano 2019. ucm.es/otri, Universidad Complutense. 2019.
Last communications:
- Gonzalez-Zorn B.. Los nuevos antibióticos solo nos darán tiempo frente a la resistencia, hay que cambiar la mentalidad. ConSalud.es. 2026. (Web interview)
- Ugarte-Ruiz M.. Zoonosis de transmisión alimentaria y resistencias a antimicrobianos. Centro VISAVET-UCM: cómo se trabaja en un laboratorio de alta seguridad biológica. XXV Semana de la Ciencia Madri+d. 2025. (Oral communication)
- Carrizo-Coronado P., Fedele G., Torre-Fuentes L., del Pino S., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Gil-Molino M., Quesada A., Rodriguez V., Herrera-Leon S. y Alvarez J.. Caracterización genómica de linajes emergentes de Salmonella Choleraesuis en cerdos y humanos en España. XXVIII Simposio Nacional AVEDILA. 2025. (Oral communication)
- Piriz JL., Gallardo A., Gonzalez F., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Izquierdo M., Quesada A. y Igeno MI.. Plasmid curing or mutation suppression with essential oils requires the expression of the colistin resistance determinant. 47º Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular. 2025. (Oral communication)
- Piriz JL., Rivera M., Gallardo A., Pacheco P., Gonzalez F., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Sanchez-Beniro MR., Quesada A., Igeno MI. y Gil-Molino M.. Essential oils induce the loss of plasmids that confer resistance to colistin. 47º Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular. 2025. (Poster communication)
