GET Campy-Africa

**Genomic Epidemiology and Transmission of Campylobacter in Africa (GETCampy-Africa)**

About

The World Health Organization ranks diarrhoeal disease as the second most common cause of mortality among children under five years of age in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), accounting for 52,5000 annual deaths in this age group. Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the UK and USA with even higher incidence in LMICs (up to 85% of children infected before 1yr). The vision for this program and beyond is to address the remarkable paucity of systematic diarrhoeal studies for countries that have among the highest child mortality rates, including sub-Saharan Africa. Building on research and a collaborative network developed over more than a decade we are now in the position to understand the epidemiology, genomic structure and transmission and source of multiple enteric pathogens including Campylobacter in LMICs and apply this knowledge to help those most at risk.

Meet the team

Project lead:
Professor Samuel Sheppard (Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford)

The Gambia: MRC Unit the Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Jahangir Hossain: Gambian lead and epidemiologist
Professor Martin Antonio: Lead in molecular microbiology
Abdul Karim Sesay: Genomic surveillance and whole genome sequencing
Henry Badji: Microbiology and laboratory implementation
Jarra Mane: Genomics and genetic epidemiolgy

Burkina Faso: University Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou
Isidore Bonkoungou: Burkinabe lead and microbiologist

Ghana: University for Development Studies, Tamale
Akosua Bonsu Karikari: Ghanaian lead and clinical / veterinary microbiologist
Professor Courage Kosi Setsoafia Saba: clinical / veterinary microbiologist

UK: University of Oxford & Imperial College London
Ben Pascoe (Big Data institute, University of Oxford): Laboratory implementation and genetic epidemiology
Evangelos Mourkas (Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research, University of Oxford): Postdoctoral researcher and project coordinator
Shani Ali (University of Bath/Oxford): PhD student and microbiologist
Professor John Mumford (Imperial College London): ecologist, agricultural economist and risk analyst
Johnson Holt (Imperial College London): Reader in Resource Modelling
Adrian Leach (Imperial College London): Research fellow in the development and use of decision support tools

Finland: University of Helsinki
Professor Jukka Corrander: Statistical geneticist with an interest in microbial evolution, transmission modeling, statistical machine learning, genomics and Bayesian inference algorithms
Kaisa Huakka: Consultant microbiologist and resource development officer