New knowledge and approaches to reduce antimicrobial resistance, limit the spread of HIV and expand community vaccination coverage

To create new knowledge and solutions for improving the quality and accessibility of disease prevention and health care and strengthening the efficiency and sustainability of the health care system in Latvia we’ll carry out epidemiological, public health, cost effectiveness and clinical studies in the fields of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, antimicrobial resistance and vaccination coverage.

Scientific results of this project will contribute to the development of a sustainable approaches for the delivery of essential health care and public health services in the country by supporting the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders with evidence-based recommendations.

The project will be implemented through 3 synergic and complementary work packages (WP) and 5 tasks:

• WP1 – New knowledge and approaches for reduction of the burden of HIV in Latvia;
  • Task 1.1. HIV mathematical modeling;
  • Task 1.2. HIV treatment adherence study;
  • Task 1.3. New solutions for the HIV / tuberculosis dual infection;
• WP2 – Identifying the situation and offering solutions in the field of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance in the country;
  • Task 2.1. Antibiotic consumption and healthcare-associated infections study;
  • Task 2.2. Novel approach using bacterial screening as a prototype for possible phage therapy;
• WP3 - Development and piloting of vaccine cost-effectiveness evaluation model in Latvia.

Outcomes to be achieved

• 7 new research tools will be developed (adapted internationally validated questionnaires, etc.),
• 5 scientific publications will be published in internationally cited high-quality journals,
• 3 presentations on the project results will be provided at international scientific conferences,
• 6 new databases will be prepared and published on the Dataverse platform for repeated and expanded further use,
• 3 research reports will be developed, which will also include recommendations for the evidence-based public health policy in Latvia.

Project-related activities

• Roundtable discussion as part of the national research programme project: New knowledge and approaches to reducing antimicrobial resistance, limiting HIV, and expanding vaccination coverage, speaker: Hļevickis, U. (5 December 2025)
• 13th Adriatic Congress of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research with focus on CEE: Development of an economic evaluation model structure to estimate benefits and costs of preventive vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Latvia, speaker: Hļevickis, U. (26 April 2025)

RSU Research Week 2025

• Analysis of Costs of Treatment of Patients Diagnosed with Tick-Borne Viral Encephalitis, poster presentation, co-author: Hļevickis, U. (28 March 2025)
• Development of an economic model to determine benefits and costs of tick-borne encephalitis vaccination in Latvia, poster presentation, speaker: Hļevickis, U. (28 March 2025)
• First Steps Towards the Latvian Klebsiella spp. Bacteriophage Biobank, speaker: Zrelovs, Ņ. (26 March 2025)

• Antimicrobial Resistance Conference: Fāgu terapija kā potenciāla alternatīva antibiotikām: Jaunākie pētījumu sasniegumi Latvijā, speaker: Eglīte, D. (29 November 2024)
• Mechnikov Readings Conference: Phage Therapy Research Advancements In Latvia: A Possible Alternative To Antibiotics, speaker: Eglīte, D. (1 November 2024)
• XVII Baltic Congress of Laboratory Medicine: A Potential Alternative to Antibiotics. Progress of Phage Therapy Research in Latvia, speaker: Eglīte, D. (7 September 2024)
• 34th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases: Resistome and phylogenetic characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes clinical isolates from adult patients in Riga East University Hospital (29 April 2024)

Data sets

HIV Medication Adherence among People Living with HIV in Latvia

Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) based on ECDC PPS 6.1 methodology and Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) Data for Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates in Latvia

Klebsiella spp. strains from Latvia and their phages

Factors associated with TB disease development among HIV patients

HIV-TB data, TB testing practice

Media coverage

HIV Latvijā nereti atklāj vēlu, un daudzi nelieto valsts apmaksātās zāles. Kā apkarojam vīrusu?, LSM (19 December 2025)

Antimicrobial Resistance: Do You Know What Selection Pressure Is? (in Latvian), Doctus (19 November 2025)

How Pets Can Affect Their Owners' Health: Antibiotic Resistance in Animals and Humans (in Latvian), Latvijas Radio 1 programme Kā labāk dzīvot (14.07.2025.)

Antibiotic Resistance, Medicus Bonus journal, issue #78 (May/June 2025)

Many People in Latvia Are Unaware They Are Living with HIV: Could Saliva Self-Tests Have a Future?, LSM (12 May 2025)