The main aims of the PET-Risk project are to examine the transmission paths of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes between humans and companion animals (cats and dogs) during skin and soft tissue infections and urinary tract infections in the pets. The project has a particular focus on determining the causality and direction of the transfer of resistance between cats/dogs and people as well as in establishing measures to avoid and control the spread of antimicrobial resistance. During animal-human transfer, bacterial isolates may be exchanged in either direction. Where the exchanged bacteria have resistance plasmids, the latter may not only be exchanged between different bacteria of the original host but also be transferred to bacteria of the new host following the transfer of the resistant bacteria. The team at the Freie Universität Berlin is responsible together with the associated partner from Switzerland for determining the similarity between the resistant bacterial isolates of humans and animals. Another focus of the research is to compare resistance plasmids of corresponding bacterial isolates of humans and animals.

The project is part of a transnational research collaboration under the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). The collaboration involves scientists from the UK, Germany, Portugal, Canada and Switzerland working together on a solution to this research question. The funding measure pursues the aim of bringing together relevant research groups with complementary expertise and resources from the participating countries. Cooperative research approaches will achieve progress in preventing, monitoring and combating antibiotic resistance which could not be achieved on a national level.