Bacterial epidemiology, evolution and bioinformatics for public health. (360G-Wellcome-089472_Z_09_Z)

The control of sexually-transmitted infections is a health priority and depends on a knowledge of how they spread within communities. Good molecular methods are lacking for typing Chlamydia trachomatis, the cause of the most prevalent sexually-transmitted infection worldwide. Important questions about the epidemiology of Chlamydia infections therefore remain unanswered. We will do necessary preliminary work in developing SNP typing to address the epidemiology of C. trachomatis (including LGV) infections. We will use molecular methods to investigate the extent of bridging between MSM and heterosexual networks in London. We will study the geographic origins, and patterns of global spread of the soil saprophyte, Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. We have promoted the use of multilocus sequence analysis for bacterial taxonomy and will extend our previous work to resolve species in another taxonomy challenging group of species. We maintain multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) databases that allow clinical and basic scientists to identify strains of bacterial pathogens via the internet. These websites are widely used and we will upgrade them, basing them on a map-based approach, and will develop new websites and tools for epidemiology and public health. We will also explore the utility of mobile phone technology for epidemiology.