Critical Microbes: Building a national infection research infrastructure inspired by Denmark

Anne-Marie Fors Connolly investigates both acute and long-term complications after infections by analyzing whole population data.

ImageHans Karlsson

I hope more research groups will recognize the importance of studying how infections affect public health

“Improving patient care is what drives me,” says Anne-Marie Fors Connolly, specialist physician and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University.

The research infrastructure Critical Microbes integrates test results from clinical microbiology laboratories with outcomes of infectious diseases across Sweden. By collecting and coordinating population-wide data, including socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical variables, it becomes possible to map how infectious diseases impact public health, work capacity, and societal costs.

“It is an interdisciplinary effort that combines advanced statistical methods with clinical expertise to identify risk factors, optimize treatment strategies, and generate robust, evidence-based knowledge,” Anne-Marie Fors Connolly explains.

Patient centred improvement in focus

The idea for the infrastructure came from Denmark, where all test results are centralized in real time in a surveillance database. This makes it possible to monitor how infections affect the country.

“In Sweden, we do not have the same capability, as only positive results for notifiable infections are centralized. I want to create an infrastructure where test results from all clinical microbiology laboratories in Sweden are historically collected. These will be linked to the population database already maintained by my research group, creating a connection between infection test results and patient outcomes across the entire population,” says Anne-Marie Fors Connolly.

Other research groups with ethically approved projects will be able to request data for their studies. This will make it possible to conduct research on critical infectious diseases for many years to come.

“I hope more research groups will recognize the importance of studying how infections affect public health. It is a crucial foundation for designing targeted preventive measures and improving patient care,” Anne-Marie Fors Connolly adds.

Learning from Denmark

The investment funds will enable continued development of Critical Microbes. Anne-Marie Fors Connolly will also visit the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark to learn from their experience.

“It is the only place in the world with such an infection database, so their insights are extremely valuable.”

Critical Microbes is also supported by SciLifeLab/RDCP with SEK 1 million and Pandemic Laboratory Preparedness with SEK 1.98 million.