VISAVET | Mycobacteria Unit

Contact

Mycobacteria Unit
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre
Universidad Complutense
Av. Puerta de Hierro s/n. 28040 Madrid. Spain

e-mail:

Head office phone: (+34) 913 944 033

Laboratory phone: (+34) 913 943 975

Fax: (+34) 913 943 795

The Mycobacteria Unit (MYC) routinely conducts immunological, bacteriological, and molecular diagnosis of infections caused by mycobacteria, primarily tuberculosis. Additionally, it carries out field and experimental studies to evaluate diagnostic techniques and vaccines for the design of control and eradication strategies, as well as molecular epidemiology studies based on different techniques including sequencing. Therefore, the main research lines of the group involve the development, evaluation and fine-tuning of methodologies for in vivo and in vitro diagnosis of infections caused by mycobacteria, as well as the development of new technology for molecular characterization studies. MYC also collaborates with the Official Veterinary Services of Spain to design strategies that improve control and eradication programs for tuberculosis in domestic ruminants, as well as in the improvement of diagnosis and control in other domestic and wildlife species. Additionally, MYC participates in training courses and conferences on various aspects of tuberculosis aimed at veterinarians and livestock farmers. Thanks to the professional trajectory of this group, the VISAVET Centre was designated in 2008 as the European Union Reference Laboratory for bovine tuberculosis, under the auspices of the European Commission, providing technical support to all National Reference Laboratories (NRL) as well as the official veterinary services of the European Union. Furthermore, in 2023, it was also designated as the Reference Laboratory for mammalian tuberculosis by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), expanding its technical and scientific work beyond the European context.

Research

Research lines:

Tuberculosis control (MYC)
Molecular characterizacion studies of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MYC)
Tuberculosis diagnosis (MYC)
Molecular epidemiology of tubeculosis (MYC)
Diagnosis of other mycobacteriosis (MYC)

Last PhD thesis:

Javier Ortega Martín. Study of factors affecting the diagnostic performance of cellular and humoral-based techniques for caprine tuberculosis. 2024.
Pilar Pozo Piñol. Use of Epidemiological Analytic Tools and Molecular Characterization Techniques to Inform Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Programs. 2020. (Doctorado Internacional y Doctorado Industrial)
Álvaro Roy Cordero. Evaluation of new vaccines against tuberculosis in goats and advances in their immunological diagnosis. 2020. (Doctorado Internacional y Doctorado Industrial)
Jose Antonio Infantes Lorenzo. Immunoproteomic characterization of protein derivatives from Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium (subspecies avium and paratuberculosis) and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Application in diagnosis. 2018. (Doctorado Europeo)
Carmen Casal Comendador. Diagnosis of tuberculosis in ruminants and camelids: optimization of cell-based and humoral tests. 2016. (Premio Laboratorios Ovejero, Doctorado Europeo)

See all thesis

Outreach

Last outreach publications:

Skuce R., Allen A., Ford T., Romero B., O Brien D., Gormley E., McCormack J., Sawyer J., Bezos J., O Hagan M., Miller M., Coffey M., Gordon S. and Olea Popelka F.. DISCONTOOLS chapter on bovine tuberculosis. Discontools, Discontools. 2024.
Roy A., Velasco-Reinaldos C. and Bezos J.. Tuberculosis en ganado caprino: situación epidemiológica en España y avances en su diagnóstico. Ruminews, Agrinews. 2024.
Martucciello A ., Mazzone P., Napolitano F., Bezos J., Grandoni F., Boniotti MB., Cagiola M., Cappelli G., Di Vuolo G., Galiero G., Signorelli F. and De Carlo E.. Intradermal Tuberculin Test in Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): Experimental use of Mycobacterial Antigens for the Diagnosis of Bovine Tuberculosis. Journal of Buffalo Science, 13:46-52, Lifescience Global Inc. 2024.
Agullo-Ros I., Ortega J., Roy A., Moreno I., Gómez-Buendía A., Romero B., Ferreras-Colino E., de Juan L., Dominguez M., Dominguez L., Bezos J. and Risalde MA.. ¿Son los altos títulos de anticuerpos frente a la tuberculosis un indicador fiable de protección frente a la enfermedad?. Tierras. Caprino, 45, Grupo interempresas. 2024.
Velasco-Reinaldos C., Ortega J., Gómez-Buendía A., Grau A., Lopez M., Alvarez J., Romero B., de Juan L. and Bezos J.. Evaluación de una nueva estrategia para el diagnóstico humoral de la paratuberculosis caprina. Tierras. Caprino, 45, Grupo interempresas. 2024.