In the last seven years, MLW has established a leading position in both typhoid and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease, modelling disease incidence and publishing the first estimate of the global burden of iNTS disease. Experimental medicine studies uncovering the cellular and molecular basis of pathogenesis proved the value of early ART initiation and treatment to penetrate intracellular niches, improving case fatality. Data on disruptions of cellular and antibody defence have driven design and evaluation of the three current candidate iNTS vaccines. Phylogenomic descriptions of three Salmonella epidemics have demonstrated the critical role of multidrug antimicrobial resistance in transmission, and altered national antimicrobial policy, improving outcomes. Understanding the niche adaptions of genomically micro-evolved African Salmonella strains is driving fundamental studies of bacterial biology.
(PIs: Gordon M, Feasey)