Enteric fever

Enteric fever, an infection caused by either Salmonella typhi or Salmonella paratyphi, has been eliminated in most industrialised countries but is an increasing burden in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. Antibiotics resistance limits safe and affordable treatment options. Training the next generation of doctors and scientists in the worst hit countries will help develop a successful and sustainable partnership.

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Christiane’s clinical research focuses on tropical diseases, in particular enteric fever (Salmonella Typhi and S. Paratyphi infections) and malaria. She was based at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Vietnam and at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), Nepal from 2002 to 2013. She moved to the UK in 2013 and now works at the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health and the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford and continues her work in Nepal.

Together with a team of superb researchers, Christiane has been leading a series of enteric fever trials in Vietnam and Nepal with the aim to systematically assess the current World Health Organization recommendations for the treatment of enteric fever as well as new treatment options. Her work focuses on providing the evidence for the best treatment of patients with enteric fever through large pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trials and to develop a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic rationale for the optimal treatment regimen. She also coordinates a global collaboration on standardisation of endpoints and harmonisation of the design of clinical trials in enteric fever.

Christiane is working in collaboration with Prof Simon Hay’s group at the Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, Oxford to develop an up-to-date map of antimicrobial drug resistance in enteric fever using data from global collaborations, national authorities, international institutions and the literature.