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The study of the incidence and spread of infectious diseases in populations over time. Host, pathogen and environmental factors are monitored to determine the dynamics of infection, the ultimate goal of which is to devise intervention strategies. Molecular methods, such as phylogenomics, can be used to accurately track pathogens.
In this Review, Pai and colleagues examine the global landscape of drug-resistant tuberculosis, exploring its epidemiology, causes, risk factors, stigma and associated mental health burden as well as discussing the most recent developments in diagnostics, treatment and preventive regimens.
A study underscores the emergence of a qacA-harbouring multidrug-resistant sequence type 45 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus lineage, highlighting the potential impact of biocide tolerance on its recent clonal spread in Australia and Asia.
A 5 year longitudinal, retrospective and multi-centre epidemiological study of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae across China reveals antibiotic resistance, virulence gene and capsule profiles for 1,017 isolates showing increased K64 prevalence, increased hypervirulence and moderate frequency, stable circulation of capsule- or O-antigen-deficient strains.
Liu et al. analyze phenotypic and genomic characteristics of clinical IMP-producing Klebsiella spp. Isolates in China. Multi-clonal transmission, multiple genetic environments and differing plasmid types all play a role in disseminating blaIMP genes among Klebsiella spp.
This study finds that a deadly skin disease in red squirrels is associated with a staphylococcal clone often acquired through spillover from other hosts.
A recent study reports that anthropogenic land use causes major changes in the diversity and taxonomic composition of reservoir hosts for pathogens, with implications for the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
Epidemiological modelling informs government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, but confusion abounds about the models. What can physicists do to help?