Publications by authors named "S J Dunstan"
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in pregnancy: A systematic review.
PLOS Glob Public Health
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers reviewed 47 studies and found that pregnant women have a higher risk of progression to active TB compared to non-pregnant women, with increased risk during pregnancy and after childbirth.
- * The findings suggest that the perinatal period is a key time for screening and preventative treatment, emphasizing the safety and effectiveness of TB preventive treatment (TPT) while calling for further research to improve screening strategies and support informed decision-making among pregnant women.
Article Synopsis
- Enteric fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A, poses a significant public health issue due to rising antimicrobial resistance, complicating treatment options and worsening health outcomes.
- *The study sequenced bacteria samples from blood cultures of febrile patients in urban sites of Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Blantyre (Malawi) to analyze their genetic characteristics and resistance mechanisms.
- *Findings revealed that different genotypes of S. Typhi were present across the sites, with high rates of multidrug resistance in Blantyre and Dhaka but not in Kathmandu, highlighting diverse transmission dynamics and resistance patterns.
Background: Bacterial diversity could contribute to the diversity of tuberculosis infection and treatment outcomes observed clinically, but the biological basis of this association is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to identify associations between phenogenomic variation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and tuberculosis clinical features.
Methods: We developed a high-throughput platform to define phenotype-genotype relationships in M tuberculosis clinical isolates, which we tested on a set of 158 drug-sensitive M tuberculosis strains sampled from a large tuberculosis clinical study in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) infection is a growing and potent concern, and combating it will be necessary to achieve the WHO's goal of a 95% reduction in TB deaths by 2035. While prior studies have explored the evolution and spread of drug resistance, we still lack a clear understanding of the fitness costs (if any) imposed by resistance-conferring mutations and the role that genetic lineage plays in determining the likelihood of resistance evolution. This study offers insight into these questions by assessing the dynamics of resistance evolution in a high-burden Southeast Asian setting with a diverse lineage composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Two Layer hypothesis is fast becoming the favoured narrative describing East Asian population history. Under this model, hunter-gatherer groups who initially peopled East Asia via a route south of the Himalayas were assimilated by agriculturalist migrants who arrived via a northern route across Eurasia. A lack of ancient samples from tropical East Asia limits the resolution of this model.
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