Breadcrumb

null Makeda Semret, MD, M.Sc., FRCP(C)

Investigator, RI-MUHC, Glen site

Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, MUHC

 

Keywords

hospital infections • infection control • molecular diagnostics • antimicrobial resistance

Research Focus

My research focuses on hospital-associated infections (HAI) in Africa and in Canada, with an emphasis on specific infection control measures that will improve quality of care and patient safety. HAI and antimicrobial resistance are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients in industrialized countries. The burden of HAI and of antimicrobial resistance is largely unknown in Africa, where systematic surveillance is limited by weak laboratory infrastructure. We are systematically analyzing the characteristics of HAI in a large referral hospital in Ethiopia, in conjunction with training in infectious diseases and support of the microbiology laboratory. Additionally we are assessing the impact of laboratory diagnostics and of antimicrobial stewardship interventions on patient outcomes, antimicrobial prescriptions and antimicrobial resistance patterns in Ethiopia and in Canada.

Selected Publications

Click on Pubmed to see my current publications list

  • Semret M, Schiller I, Jardin BA, Frenette C, Loo VG, Papenburg J, McNeil SA, Dendukuri N. Multiplex Respiratory Virus Testing for Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Prospective Assessment of Antimicrobial Use and Clinical Outcomes Among Hospitalized Adults. J Infect Dis. 2017 Nov 15;216(8):936-944. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jix288. PMID: 29149338.

  • Semret M, Ndao M, Jacobs J, Yansouni CP. Point-of-care and point-of-"can": Leveraging reference-laboratory capacity for integrated diagnosis of fever syndromes in the tropics. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2018 Apr 9. pii: S1198-743X(18)30322-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2018.03.044. [Epub ahead of print]Review. PMID: 29649602.

  • Ombelet S, Ronat JB, Walsh T, Yansouni CP, Cox J, Vlieghe E, Martiny D, Semret M, Vandenberg O, Jacobs J; Bacteriology in Low Resource Settings working group. Clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings: today's solutions. Lancet Infect Dis. 2018 Mar 5. pii: S1473-3099(18)30093-8. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30093-8. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PMID: 29519767.

  • Semret M, Dyachenko A, Ramman-Haddad L, Belzile E, McCusker J. Cleaning the grey zones of hospitals: A prospective, crossover, interventional study. Am J Infect Control. 2016 Dec 1;44(12):1582-1588. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.04.234. Epub 2016 Jul 7. PMID: 27397907.

  • Jean A, Quach C, Yung A, Semret M. Severity and outcome associated with human coronavirus OC43 infections among children. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2013 Apr;32(4):325-9. doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e3182812787. PMID: 23337903.