Publications by authors named "Katalina Tonthola"
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Environmental surveillance helps scientists study how Salmonella Typhi (the germ that causes typhoid fever) spreads in places where many people are sick and there's not much clean water.
- Researchers tested water samples from 43 sites in Blantyre, Malawi, and found that about 2.1% of some samples and 3.9% of other samples had the germ in them.
- They noticed that the presence of human waste in the water was linked to more chances of finding the germ, but the timing of when they found it didn't match with the number of people getting sick, showing that this testing can still help track the germ even when fewer people have typhoid fever.
J Appl Microbiol
February 2022
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on developing a method for detecting Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) in environmental samples to improve monitoring of typhoid outbreaks.
- Researchers tested various culture media and found a successful pathway for isolating viable S. Typhi from river water samples in Malawi, using a combination of broths and agar followed by PCR confirmation.
- This research marks the first successful isolation of S. Typhi from the environment in decades, highlighting the importance of integrating environmental testing with clinical data for better disease surveillance and public health interventions.
