Campylobacter is a key cause of foodborne disease globally, particularly in high-income countries. In Australia, rates of reported illnesses are among the highest in the world, with 124.3 cases per 100,000 reported in 2020.  To describe the factors impacting Campylobacter infections in Australia and measure the health burden of the disease, Dani will use CampySource data including antimicrobial resistance profiles from whole genome sequencing, and case-control study data to conduct analyses on three main themes:

1. What are the main risk factors for Campylobacter infections in Australia, and do these differ between species?
   1. Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli subgroup analyses
   2. Use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) as an increased risk for enteric infections
   3. Impact of antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance
2. What is the societal burden of Campylobacter infection in Australia?
   1. Economic cost of infections
   2. Global comparison study of sequence-type 50
3. What are the lasting implications of infections?
   1. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and the effect on vulnerable groups (immunocompromised, young children and the elderly)

This PhD study will help to translate the results of the CampySource study to improve understanding of Campylobacter infections in Australia, and will identify risk factors for infection, as well as the burden of Campylobacter at an individual and population level.

About Dani

Dani completed her Honours at RSPH in 2018 and has since been working as a Research Assistant at NCEPH in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling group on the CampySource, Integrated Systems for Epidemic Response (ISER), and PFAS projects. She began her PhD at the beginning of 2020, continuing on the work from the NHMRC funded project ‘Understanding the Sources of Campylobacter in Australia’ (CampySource).