Bah, S.Y., Morang’a, C.M., Kengne-Ouafo, J.A. et al. (2 more authors) (2018) Highlights on the application of genomics and bioinformatics in the fight against infectious diseases : challenges and opportunities in Africa. Frontiers in Genetics, 9. 575.
Abstract
Genomics and bioinformatics are increasingly contributing to our understanding of infectious diseases caused by bacterial pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum. This ranges from investigations of disease outbreaks and pathogenesis, host and pathogen genomic variation, and host immune evasion mechanisms to identification of potential diagnostic markers and vaccine targets. High throughput genomics data generated from pathogens and animal models can be combined with host genomics and patients’ health records to give advice on treatment options as well as potential drug and vaccine interactions. However, despite accounting for the highest burden of infectious diseases, Africa has the lowest research output on infectious disease genomics. Here we review the contributions of genomics and bioinformatics to the management of infectious diseases of serious public health concern in Africa including tuberculosis (TB), dengue fever, malaria and filariasis. Furthermore, we discuss how genomics and bioinformatics can be applied to identify drug and vaccine targets. We conclude by identifying challenges to genomics research in Africa and highlighting how these can be overcome where possible.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Keywords: | bioinformatics; genomics; infectious diseases; antimicrobial resistant; diagnosis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Nov 2019 10:57 |
Last Modified: | 20 Nov 2019 11:06 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media SA |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fgene.2018.00575 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:152559 |