Publications

multilocus genotyping of cryptosporidium parvum type 2: population genetics and sub-structuring.	cryptosporidium parvum is an intracellular protozoan parasite that infects the gastrointestinal tract of humans and other mammals. it has significant economic importance as a pathogen of livestock and, as there is no effective treatment or vaccine available, understanding transmission routes and identifying sources of infection is key to preventing future outbreaks and controlling this disease. in this study we have determined the multilocus genotype (mlg) of 240 c. parvum type 2 (bovine) isolat ...	2003	14522184
epidemiology of parasitic protozoan infections in soay sheep (ovis aries l.) on st kilda.	the feral soay sheep (ovis aries l.) population on hirta, st kilda, is host to a diverse component parasite community, but previous parasitological studies of the population have only focussed on the metazoan species. this paper reports the first epidemiological study of the protozoan species comprising cryptosporidium parvum, giardia duodenalis and 11 species of eimeria in soay sheep across 3 years of varying host population density. prevalence and intensity of almost all species of protozoa si ...	2007	16978448
host-shaped segregation of the cryptosporidium parvum multilocus genotype repertoire.	cattle are among the major reservoirs of cryptosporidium parvum in nature. however, the relative contribution of c. parvum oocysts originating from cattle to human disease burden is difficult to assess, as various transmission pathways -- including the human to human route -- can co-occur. in this study, multilocus genotype richness of representative samples of human and bovine c. parvum are compared statistically using analytical rarefaction and non-parametric taxonomic richness estimators. res ...	2008	17394677
outbreak of cryptosporidiosis among veterinary students.	in january 2007, six veterinary students became infected with cryptosporidium species, and records indicated that another student had been diagnosed in november 2006. it was established that the seven students had worked with cattle from the same farm. microbiological tests indicated that they were infected with cryptosporidium parvum. subtyping by sequence analysis indicated a common source of infection for five of the students, but there was insufficient material to type the other two samples. ...	2008	18587060
the population structure of the cryptosporidium parvum population in scotland: a complex picture.	we genotyped 297 scottish c. parvum samples using micro- and minisatellites. treated as a single population, the population structure was epidemic. when regional populations were analysed, there was evidence of sub-population structure variations. this was dependent upon excluding sub-groups exhibiting significant genetic distance from the main population, implying genetic sub-structuring. we tested the hypothesis that these sub-groups originated outside the uk and demonstrated that one sub-grou ...	2008	18077222
spatial and temporal epidemiology of sporadic human cryptosporidiosis in scotland.	the spatial and temporal epidemiology of human cryptosporidiosis was described by analysing sporadic cases reported in scotland from 2005 to 2007. measures of livestock density and human population density were explored as indicators of the geographical variation in prevalence. cryptosporidium parvum was more common in areas with lower human population densities, with a higher ratio of the number of farms to human inhabitants and with a higher ratio of the number of private water supplies to hum ...	2010	19638164
identification of cryptosporidium species and genotypes in scottish raw and drinking waters during a one-year monitoring period.	we analyzed 1,042 cryptosporidium oocyst-positive slides (456 from raw waters and 586 from drinking waters) of which 55.7% contained 1 or 2 oocysts, to determine species/genotypes present in scottish waters. two nested pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) assays targeting different loci (1 and 2) of the hypervariable region of the 18s rrna gene were used for species identification, and 62.4% of samples were amplified with at least one of the pcr assays. more samples (577 slides; 4 ...	2010	20639357
genetic diversity of cryptosporidium spp. within a remote population of soay sheep on st. kilda islands, scotland.	this is the first report to characterize the genotypes and subtypes of cryptosporidium species infecting a geographically isolated population of feral soay sheep (ovis aries) on hirta, st. kilda, scotland, during two distinct periods: (i) prior to a population crash and (ii) as host numbers increased. cryptosporidium dna was extracted by freeze-thawing of immunomagnetically separated (ims) bead-oocyst complexes, and species were identified following nested-pcr-restriction fragment length polymor ...	2013	23354707
molecular characterization of cryptosporidium parvum isolates from human cryptosporidiosis cases in scotland.	cryptosporidium parvum (c. parvum) is one of the most prevalent protozoan pathogens responsible for inducing human and animal disease worldwide. in this study, the glycoprotein-60 (gp60) subtyping tool was employed to assess the molecular diversity of c. parvum from human feces throughout scotland during potential outbreaks. over a 24-month period, microscopy analysis revealed 1139 positive feces containing cryptosporidium species with 256 identified by molecular methods specifically as c. parvu ...	2015	25244937
an outbreak of cryptosporidium parvum across england & scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, may 2012.	we report a widespread foodborne outbreak of cryptosporidium parvum in england and scotland in may 2012. cases were more common in female adults, and had no history of foreign travel. over 300 excess cases were identified during the period of the outbreak. speciation and microbiological typing revealed the outbreak strain to be c. parvum gp60 subtype iiaa15g2r1.	2015	26017538