Publications
131 results found
Turner HC, Churcher TS, Walker M, et al., 2013, Uncertainty Surrounding Projections of the Long-Term Impact of Ivermectin Treatment on Human Onchocerciasis, PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, Vol: 7, ISSN: 1935-2735
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- Citations: 41
Basanez M-G, McCarthy JS, French MD, et al., 2012, A Research Agenda for Helminth Diseases of Humans: Modelling for Control and Elimination, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol: 6, ISSN: 1935-2735
Human helminthiases are of considerable publichealth importance in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and LatinAmerica. The acknowledgement of the disease burden dueto helminth infections, the availability of donated oraffordable drugs that are mostly safe and moderatelyefficacious, and the implementation of viable mass drugadministration (MDA) interventions have prompted theestablishment of various large-scale control and eliminationprogrammes. These programmes have benefited fromimproved epidemiological mapping of the infections, betterunderstanding of the scope and limitations of currentlyavailable diagnostics and of the relationship betweeninfection and morbidity, feasibility of community-directedor school-based interventions, and advances in the design ofmonitoring and evaluation (M&E) protocols. Considerablesuccess has been achieved in reducing morbidity orsuppressing transmission in a number of settings, whilstchallenges remain in many others. Some of the obstaclesinclude the lack of diagnostic tools appropriate to thechanging requirements of ongoing interventions andelimination settings; the reliance on a handful of drugsabout which not enough is known regarding modes ofaction, modes of resistance, and optimal dosage singly or incombination; the difficulties in sustaining adequate coverageand compliance in prolonged and/or integrated programmes;an incomplete understanding of the social,behavioural, and environmental determinants of infection;and last, but not least, very little investment in research anddevelopment (R&D). The Disease Reference Group onHelminth Infections (DRG4), established in 2009 by theSpecial Programme for Research and Training in TropicalDiseases (TDR), was given the mandate to undertake acomprehensive review of recent advances in helminthiasesresearch, identify research gaps, and rank priorities for anR&D agenda for the control and elimination of theseinfections. This review presents the processes undertakento identify and rank ten t
Basanez M-G, French MD, Walker M, et al., 2012, Paradigm lost: how parasite control may alter pattern and process in human helminthiases, TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY, Vol: 28, Pages: 161-171, ISSN: 1471-4922
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- Citations: 23
Walker M, Little MP, Wagner KS, et al., 2012, Density-Dependent Mortality of the Human Host in Onchocerciasis: Relationships between Microfilarial Load and Excess Mortality, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol: 6
Walker M, Hall A, Basanez M-G, 2011, Individual Predisposition, Household Clustering and Risk Factors for Human Infection with <i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i>: New Epidemiological Insights, PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, Vol: 5, ISSN: 1935-2735
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- Citations: 35
Walker M, 2010, The population biology of Ascaris lumbricoides infections in humans
Ascaris lumbricoides is an intestinal parasitic nematode of humans belonging to the group of so-called soil-transmitted helminths. Understanding the population biology of these helminthiases is vital to the success of control initiatives, brought into sharper focus by the worldwide onslaught on neglected tropical diseases. Traditionally, chemo-expulsion studies have been used to collect data on intestinal helminth infections in humans and the data analysed in this thesis originate from the largest of such studies. This thesis aims to further knowledge of the population biology of A. lumbricoides infections in humans using a combination of statistical and mathematical models.The analyses are divided into three themes. First, the interplay betweendensity-dependent e ects on the average weight and fecundity of A.lumbricoides is explored. A particular focus is on modelling the egg count data which are overdispersed and zero inflated. The latter is exploited to show that the sensitivity of the egg detection method is dependent on, among other covariates, worm burden. This has implications for the estimation of prevalence in epidemiological surveys.Second, data on individual worm weights are used to determine whetherhosts are infected with A. lumbricoides singly or in clumps. Hosts areshown to harbour worms of a similar size which suggests the latter. Therobustness of this conclusion is assessed using a stochastic infection model to simulate alternative data. Clumped infections contribute to the typically overdispersed distribution of worms among hosts and have further implications for the potential spread of anthelmintic resistance.Third, a Bayesian approach is used to exploit the hierarchical structureof the data and explore the interplay between individual predisposition,household clustering and household risk factors of worm burden.These ndings suggest that the household is a focus of A. lumbricoidestransmission and that individual predisposition is of little epidemi
Walker M, Hall A, Basanez M-G, 2010, Trickle or clumped infection process? An analysis of aggregation in the weights of the parasitic roundworm of humans, <i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i>, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY, Vol: 40, Pages: 1373-1380, ISSN: 0020-7519
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- Citations: 9
Walker M, Hall A, Basanez M-G, 2010, Trickle or clumped infection process? A stochastic model for the infection process of the parasitic roundworm of humans, <i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i>, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY, Vol: 40, Pages: 1381-1388, ISSN: 0020-7519
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- Citations: 9
Walker M, Hall A, Anderson RM, et al., 2009, Density-dependent effects on the weight of female Ascaris lumbricoides infections of humans and its impact on patterns of egg production., Parasit Vectors, Vol: 2, Pages: 1-18, ISSN: 1756-3305
ABSTRACT:
Walker M, Basanez M-G, Hall A, et al., 2008, TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF THE SEX RATIO OF <i>ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES</i> AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION, 57th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene, Publisher: AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE, Pages: 337-337, ISSN: 0002-9637
Walker M, Hall A, Anderson RM, et al., 2008, FACTORS AFFECTING THE FECUNDITY OF <i>ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES</i> AND THEIR IMPACT ON PATTERNS OF DENSITY DEPENDENCE, 57th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene, Publisher: AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE, Pages: 337-337, ISSN: 0002-9637
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