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Biomedical subjects

David Heath

Publications and source records attributed to David Heath.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Control of hydatidosis.

Control of hydatidosis is less effective without the support of dog-owners, and this support can only be obtained if the people have a clear understanding of the life-cycle of the hydatid parasite(s) and what risk factors contribute to human infections. Dissemination of this information is the biggest challenge for hydatid control. Participatory planning between dog-owners and community leaders should evaluate the possible control technologies, and should enable a choice of those aspects that suit the sociology and economic status of the particular community. Collection of baseline data is essential, as is on-going surveillance. Hydatid control should be mainly self-funded, which again requires the support of the dog-owner. A pilot hydatid control program for Tibetan herdsmen is described.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Hydatid disease: vaccinology and development of the EG95 recombinant vaccine.

Hydatid disease is a zoonotic parasitic disease that is distributed widely around the world and causes substantial human morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. Reduction of human hydatid disease using anthelmintics, together with changes in human lifestyle and animal management practices, have been unsuccessful in some developing countries where the disease still persists. Substantial progress has been made towards developing a practical, recombinant vaccine in sheep, to interrupt the lifecycle of Echinococcus granulosus and to prevent subsequent transmission from dogs to humans. This review focuses on the scientific advances in the development of a recombinant vaccine for hydatid disease and the remaining challenges facing the widespread use of the vaccine for control of hydatid disease in endemic areas.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Detection of influenza virus from throat and pharyngeal swabs with a nested duplex light cycler RT-PCR.

A rapid duplex RT-PCR method was developed using the Roche LightCycler technology for detection of influenza type A and influenza type B viruses. Ninety-seven clinical specimens were analyzed using the Lightcycler method compared with conventional viral culture. Thirty-seven specimens (38.1%) were positive by RT-PCR using matrix protein (MP) primers for influenza A or B virus, compared to thirteen culture positive specimens (13.4%). All culture positive specimens were also positive by RT-PCR. A nested PCR reaction using hemagglutination (HA) gene primers confirmed all of the earlier positive PCR reactions. This LightCycler PCR technique was found to be more sensitive than viral culture for influenza virus detection.

Cohort Studies↗