Our Mission
Our Mission
The INFECT Project, an initiative by the INFECT Association, is focused on supporting healthcare professionals in making well-informed decisions when it comes to antibiotic use, in order to tackle the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Our aim is to create a healthier future by providing essential tools and resources that promote responsible antibiotic use and support antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
Utilising innovation and the latest technologies, we are dedicated to developing a user-friendly platform that presents current regional resistance data, information on microbes and the substances that counteract them, as well as a framework for evidence-based guidelines for healthcare professionals.
Support for the INFECT Project will assist in funding the research, development, and implementation of our objectives, aiding us in our efforts to address AMR. As part of the INFECT Association, we endeavour to utilise technology in a manner that protects the advancements of modern medicine and promotes a healthier future for all. Join the INFECT Association in our ongoing endeavours!
Our Project
The INFECT Project
Empirical antimicrobial therapy is a vital and widely applied concept in clinical medicine that relies on the availability of local antimicrobial resistance data and evidence-based guidelines. To support the availability of such data, the INFECT Association initiated the project INFECT AMR (INterface For Empirical antimicrobial ChemoTherapy), aimed at informing and assisting clinicians with empirical antimicrobial treatments.
INFECT AMR is a web application that works with all major internet browsers. The data source for INFECT AMR is anonymized individual patient susceptibility data from the Swiss Center for Antibiotic Resistance. In a monthly interval, INFECT AMR automatically imports recent resistance information, which is aggregated and shown in a substance-by-organism matrix, where the data can be filtered by multiple characteristics.
In order to handle the heavy computational load of combining filters that currently handle around 7 million data points on the fly, we have developed a distributed real-time in-memory analytics engine (the INFECT Processor) that can distribute load to multiple servers. To enhance the clinical usability of INFECT AMR, a guideline module will be added that combines third-party empirical antimicrobial treatment guidelines with the regional resistance data.
The data can be filtered by users according to microbial (e.g., Gram stain), antimicrobial (e.g., substance class) or population (e.g., region, age) properties. Susceptibility is displayed as percentage in a coloured circle, with the circle colour showing the proportion of susceptibles while the circle size represents sample size:
With the INFECT AMR application it is now possible to routinely assist empirical antimicrobial therapies with state-of-the-art information technology using the latest epidemiological data and third party guidelines. Due to its flexible modular design, INFECT AMR may be adjusted to other data sources, or extended with further modules as needed.
In order to make the resistance data displayed in the INFECT AMR application available to more users, the INFECT Association has developed a web-based integrator platform that allows organizations to integrate the INFECT AMR resistance matrix as a widget into their own web based medical treatment guidelines and other documents. The integrator platform is available at integration.infect.info.
Association
The INFECT Association
The INFECT AMR application is designed, developed and operated by INFECT, a non-profit association under Swiss law, founded in 2016 and located in Bern, Switzerland.
The INFECT Board is currently formed by (alphabetical order):
- Sascha Albrecht, MD; Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Prof. Silvio D. Brugger, MD, PhD; Head of Hospital Epidemiology Laboratory and Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; Head of SDB LAB, University of Zurich, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member
- Pascal M. Frey, MD, MSc; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), Switzerland; PostDoc at SDB LAB, University of Zurich, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member and current president
- Philipp Jent, MD; Head of Infection Prevention and Control at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Lina van der Weg, Technological lead, UX specialist and product designer at the INFECT Association and Founder Rainbow Labs, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member
INFECT Active Members actively contribute to forming the INFECT Association by electing the board and steering committee. They are also our valuable beta testers and consist of (alphabetical order):
- Claudio Acevedo, MD; Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Fellow at SDB LAB, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Tobias Anliker, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland, Board Member Swiss Young Internists
- Prof. Drahomir Aujesky, MD, MSc; Director and Chief Physician of the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; Co-President of the Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine (SSGIM)
- PD Manuel Blum, MD, MSc; Senior Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Philipp K. Bühler, MD; Head of the Centre for Intensive Care, Kantonsspital Winterthur, Switzerland
- Michael Greiner, MD; Medical Microbiology Fellow at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Prof. Huldrych Günthard, MD; Deputy Director and Head of HIV Laboratory at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; President of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS)
- Sebastian Herren, MD; Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
- Prof. Stefan Kuster, MD, MSc, EMBA UZH; Chief Physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Prof. Roger Kouyos, PhD; Head of Kouyos Lab at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
- Yonas Martin, MD; Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Lilly Meyer, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Infection Prevention, Kantonsspital Baden, Switzerland
- Stefanie Mosimann, MD, MME; Attending Physician at the Department of Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Prof. Nicolas Müller, MD; Senior Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; Head of Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich; Board Member and Past President of the Society for Infectious Diseases (SSI)
- Martin Perrig, MD, MME; Chief Physician at the Department of Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Caroline Rimensberger, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; Board Member Swiss Young Internists
- Thomas Scheier, MD; Research Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; Research Fellow at SDB LAB, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Adrian Schmid, MD; Head of Infection Prevention and Control at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Kantonsspital Winterthur, Switzerland
- Claudio Schneider, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- PD Tobias Tritschler, MD, MSc; Senior Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland; President Swiss Young Internists
INFECT Passive Members ideologically and financially support our cause on a continuous basis (alphabetical order):
- PD Dominique Braun, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; Head of the Coordination Center Zurich, Swiss HIV Cohort Study, Zurich, Switzerland
- PD Markus Hilty, PhD, Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Switzerland
- PD Johannes Nemeth, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
The INFECT Steering Committee is formed by (alphabetical order):
- Sascha Albrecht, MD; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Prof. Silvio D. Brugger, MD, PhD; Head of Hospital Epidemiology Laboratory and Attending Physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member
- Pascal M. Frey, MD, MSc; Attending Physician at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), Switzerland; PostDoc at SDB LAB, University of Zurich, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member and current president
- Philipp Jent, MD; Head of Infection Prevention and Control at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Prof. Stefan Kuster, MD, MSc, EMBA UZH; Chief Physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Lina van der Weg, Technological lead, UX specialist and product designer at the INFECT Association and Founder Rainbow Labs, Switzerland; INFECT Founding Member
The INFECT board and steering committee members are elected at the Annual General Meeting.
Donations
Donations are very welcome. The INFECT Association is a non-profit organisation and needs your support to continue its mission.
Your donation will be used to
- support the operations of the INFECT Association
- develop new features for the INFECT framework
- maintain the infect framework
Membership and Donations
About the Membership
As of 2022 the INFECT Association is accepting new members. All new members will receive the membership status of a “passive membership” without a right to vote at the Annual General Meeting. However, active membership including the right to vote can be granted by the INFECT board upon request.
In order to become a member, you have to subscribe to the INFECT Association’s membership fee. The membership fee is CHF 100 per year. The membership fee can be paid by credit card or bank transfer using our online payment system. You may decide afterwards if you'd like to be listed as a member of the INFECT Association on this website.
If you wish to upgrade your membership status to active membership, you need to contact us by email or by using the contact form below. You have to subscribe as a passive member to be eligible for active membership.
To update your personal details or to cancel your membership, please use the Membership Portal or contact us.
One time donations
Contact
INFECT Association
℅ Dr. med. Pascal Frey, Department of General Internal Medicine
Bern University Hospital, Inselspital
3010 Bern