Madikay Senghore

Abstract Introduction: Campylobacter is a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis globally, but its molecular epidemiology remains poorly understood in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the genotypic population structure of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from children with moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) and healthy controls in The Gambia. Additionally, we determined the antimicrobial susceptibility levels of the isolates.

Abstract Identifying and interrupting transmission chains is important for controlling infectious diseases. One way to identify transmission pairs – two hosts in which infection was transmitted from one to the other – is using the variation of the pathogen within each single host (within-host variation). However, the role of such variation in transmission is understudied due to a lack of experimental and clinical datasets that capture pathogen diversity in both donor and recipient hosts.

Summary Background Sick newborns admitted to neonatal units in low-resource settings are at an increased risk of developing hospital-acquired infections due to poor clinical care practices. Clusters of infection, due to the same species, with a consistent antibiotic resistance profile, and in the same ward over a short period of time might be indicative of an outbreak.