Angus O’Ferrall

Pleased to share our new pre-print on inter-household networks of ESBL-producing E. coli in rural Malawi.

Coupled genomic and spatial analyses show that people in nearby households are often colonised by the same #AMR strains, highlighting transmission beyond individual homes.

tinyurl.com/5fsbv6n4

Volume 381 Issue 1941 | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | The Royal Society Influential themed journal issues across the life sciences.

The work was conducted as part of the HUGS (Hybridisation in Urogenital Schistosomiasis) study in southern Malawi. Several other papers from the HUGS study, and related work by other groups, are featured in the same theme issue

royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...

These patterns raise important questions about current diagnostics and clinical morbidity in zoonotic schistosome transmission zones across Africa.

In this larger cohort of children, we frequently detected DNA from classically urogenital (S. haematobium) and livestock-associated (S. mattheei) schistosome species in faeces, and identified potential cross-species interactions that may influence worm migration.

Unexpected Zoonotic and Hybrid Schistosome Egg Excretion Patterns, Malawi, 2024 Unexpected Zoonotic and Hybrid Schistosome Egg Excretion Patterns, Malawi, 2024

This work builds on the case reports published last year in Emerging Infectious Diseases, where we first reported atypical eggs from the Schistosoma haematobium group detected in faeces in Mangochi District, Malawi

wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...

Dynamic interactions between Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mattheei and Schistosoma mansoni underscore the complex polyparasitism of intestinal schistosomiasis in southern Malawi Abstract. Schistosomiasis is prevalent among school-aged children (SAC) in Mangochi District, Malawi, where both intestinal and urogenital forms are endemi

Pleased to share our new article on zoonotic and hybrid intestinal schistosome infections, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B theme issue “Parasite evolution and impact in action”
royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...

Freshwater snails are an overlooked reservoir of AMR, study reveals ​Freshwater snails across Africa and the UK carry bacteria containing a wide range of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes, including those predicted to confer resistance against last-resort antibioti...

AMR sentinels: Freshwater snails across Africa and the UK carry bacteria containing a wide range of AMR genes, including those predicted to confer resistance against last-resort antibiotics, according to a new study led by Adam Roberts and Angus O'Ferrall. www.the-microbiologist.com/news/freshwa...

Graphical Abstract: The transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) from environmental microbes to pathogens is a critical but underexplored One Health driver of antimicrobial resistance. Here, we evaluate freshwater snails, which are geographically widespread aquatic invertebrates, as environmental reservoirs of ARGs. We collected faeces from eight gastropod genera at 15 freshwater locations across Malawi, Uganda, Zanzibar and the UK and conducted the first freshwater snail faecal metagenomic study.

Freshwater snail faecal metagenomes reveal environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes across two continents. Read the full article in MGen: doi.org/10.1099/mgen... #MGen

Connecting pathogen surveillance: freshwater snails may contribute to AMR dissemination as well as parasite transmission We recently proposed a rationale for connecting AMR surveillance with schistosomiasis research. This approach not only optimises sample usage but also reflects the interconnected nature of parasite

Short blog post on linking One Health pathogen surveillance through snail faecal sampling -> www.lstmed.ac.uk/news-events/...

#AMR #Schistosomiasis #OneHealth

@gcagatgcaatg.bsky.social @russstothard.bsky.social

Excited to share our new paper in Microbial Genomics! We studied freshwater snail faecal microbiomes in Malawi, Uganda, Zanzibar & the UK, and found #AMR gene reservoirs posing risks where human, animal and environmental health intersect 🐌💩

Read here ➡️ www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

Meet the Editors: Q&A with Angus O’Ferrall, Social Media Editor for Parasitology « Life Sciences# « Cambridge Core Blog Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal. In this post we meet Angus O’Ferrall, Social Media Editor for Pa...

What’s it like managing social media for a journal as wide-ranging as #Parasitology? 🎙️ We caught up with @angusoferrall.bsky.social to talk science communication, learning from the editorial team, and sharing research with a broader audience → cup.org/44xZ25L

YouTube video by MicrobesNG Living Liverpool - a microbial map of the city

🚨 NEW VIDEO DROP 🚨
We love supporting our customers with complex sequencing projects! Take a look behind-the-scenes at a unique project from Adam Robert’s team at LSTM!

They collected 125 samples —from lakes to benches & bins—to build a microbial map of Liverpool 🏙️🦠
🎬 youtu.be/dVLKp9RsRYs #MicroSky

Grateful for the chance to present in the Knocking Out #AMR forum at @microbiologysociety.org annual conference #Microbio25

Looking forward to building on this work with colleagues in Malawi for positive public health impact

Freshwater snail faecal metagenomes reveal environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes across two continents The transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) from environmental microbes to pathogens is a critical but underexplored One Health driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we evaluate fr...

Pleased to share our new preprint... We took a look into freshwater snail faecal metagenomes in four countries and found environmental #AMR reservoirs

@lstmnews.bsky.social @gcagatgcaatg.bsky.social @russstothard.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Freshwater snail faecal metagenomes reveal environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes across two continents The transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) from environmental microbes to pathogens is a critical but underexplored One Health driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we evaluate fr...

Happy to share our latest preprint on environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance #AMR
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Freshwater snail faecal metagenomes reveal environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes across two continents https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.26.640299v1

The HUGS team from LSTM were at the Royal Society earlier this month for a focused meeting on hybrid schistosomes in Africa.

Improved disease control in animals - a tough but crucial step towards elimination.

We wrote a short blog of our activities there: www.lstmed.ac.uk/news-events/...