Publications by authors named "A McLure"
The effects of variable spatial aggregation on lymphatic filariasis transmission.
Parasit Vectors
January 2025
Background: Elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a World Health Organization goal, with several countries at or near prevalence thresholds. Where LF cases remain after mass drug administration, they tend to be spatially clustered, with an overdispersed individual worm burden. Both individual and spatial heterogeneities can cause aggregation of infection; however, few studies have investigated the drivers of heterogeneity and implications for disease elimination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severe malaria is associated with impaired nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS)-dependent vasodilation, and reversal of this deficit improves survival in murine models. Malaria might have selected for genetic polymorphisms that increase endothelial NO signaling and now contribute to heterogeneity in vascular function among humans. One protein potentially selected for is alpha globin, which, in mouse models, interacts with endothelial NOS (eNOS) to negatively regulate NO signaling.
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- Researchers analyzed genomic and epidemiological data to compare the population structure of a foodborne pathogen in Australia and New Zealand, two countries with strong trade and cultural connections.
- The study found significant differences in the most common sequence types (STs) between the countries, with many STs being unique to each one, and over half of the STs represented by only a single isolate.
- Multidrug-resistant genotypes were rare (0.8%) and not found in poultry, but a specific resistant strain was prevalent in New Zealand, highlighting the local origins of the pathogen and minimal genetic overlap between human and poultry strains in both countries.*
Article Synopsis
- Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a serious neglected tropical disease that requires improved surveillance methods, and molecular xenomonitoring (MX) could help track the disease by detecting its DNA in mosquitoes.
- A study in Samoa compared the prevalence of microfilaraemia (Mf) in humans with the presence of PCR-positive mosquitoes in different communities.
- The results showed a correlation between the number of positive mosquitoes and human Mf prevalence, particularly with the mosquito species Aedes polynesiensis, indicating that MX could be a valuable tool in monitoring LF.
is a globally important pathogen with well-studied risk factors, but the burden of risk factors has not been quantified. We quantified the cost of illness attributable to specific domestic risk factors for and in Australia. We used data from a 2018-2019 case-control study to estimate odds ratios and attributable fractions for risk factors.
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