The next Club EvMed
scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th at noon (EST)
presented by Jesse Shapiro and Abu Sayeed
Cholera and virulent phages, from coevolution within patients to improved diagnostics
We will describe a nation-wide surveillance program of diarrheal patients of Bangladesh. An exploratory metagenomic analysis of stool samples from cholera patients in this cohort led us to discover that the ratio of phages (viruses that kill bacteria) to bacteria (in this case, Vibrio cholerae) was inversely associated with milder disease severity. We further show how V. cholerae coevolves with its phages within these patients and discuss the implications for phage therapy. On an applied level, we designed a new cholera rapid diagnostic test that integrates information from both V. cholerae and phages. Together, this work highlights how an eco-evolutionary perspective on infectious disease can inform diagnostics, and eventually treatments.
We look forward to a robust discussion following the talk!
Click here to register for the March 19th talk.
