Research Focus: From livestock abortion in Tanzania to bacterial colonisation of urinary catheters

April 2025: A collection of publication highlights from Edinburgh Infectious Diseases over the past month.

Livestock movements in Tanzania
Livestock movements in Tanzania

Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution

A new collaborative study including researchers from Moredun Research Institute and Edinburgh Napier University shows how targeted surveillance can effectively track disease outbreaks and reproductive losses in livestock, even with limited resources. By engaging community-based field officers and establishing practical sampling protocols, the research team developed an approach that works on the ground. 

The findings have real-world implications: identifying disease patterns early can help protect livestock health, safeguard farmer livelihoods, and reduce potential risks to human health. Importantly, the study shows how molecular diagnostic tools can detect pathogens that might be missed through traditional surveillance methods.

Citation: Lankester F, Kibona TJ, Allan KJ, de Glanville W, Buza JJ, Katzer F, Halliday JE, Mmbaga BT, Wheelhouse N, Innes EA, Thomas KM, Nyasebwa OM, Swai E, Claxton JR, Cleaveland S. Elife. 2024 Dec 16;13:RP95296. doi: 10.7554/eLife.95296. PMID: 39679912; PMCID: PMC11649233.

Maternal views on RSV vaccination during the first season of implementation in England and Scotland

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections in infants younger than 6 months, resulting in an estimated 1·4 million hospital admissions each year worldwide. In late summer 2024 the United Kingdom introduced maternal vaccination against RSV. The vaccine generates maternal immunity that is then transferred to the unborn baby, and protects them from RSV bronchiolitis after birth.

Researchers from the Centre for Inflammation Research in collaboration with clinicians from around Scotland conducted a survey of mothers whose infants had been admitted with bronchiolitis across England and Scotland. 

Over three quarters (86 per cent) of vaccinated mothers surveyed believed the new maternal bivalent RSV vaccine was necessary, and 76% believed it was safe. However, whilst the  majority of unvaccinated mothers (73 per cent) also agreed it was necessary, only just under half (49 per cent) felt confident that it was safe; and 44% stated that they were unsure about its safety.

Citation: Williams TC, Marlow R, Cunningham S, Drysdale SB, Groves H, Iskander D, Liu X, Lyttle MD, Mpamhanga CD, O'Hagan S, Waterfield T, Roland D; PERUKI & BronchStart Collaboration. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Mar;25(3):e135-e136. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00060-X. Epub 2025 Jan 29. PMID: 39892411.

SAAP-148 and halicin exhibit synergistic antimicrobial activity against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in skin but not airway epithelial culture models

This study, from the PhD thesis of Patrick Lennard in the Centre for Inflammation Research and his supervisor Julia Dorin explores a sequential approach to combat AMR bacteria using two agents: the synthetic peptide SAAP-148 and the antibiotic halicin. Patrick is a student on the University of Edinburgh and Leiden University joint PhD programme in Integrated One Health Solutions. 

Their combined effectiveness in 3D human skin and lung tissue models infected with AMR bacteria was assessed, showing that pretreatment of skin models with SAAP-148 significantly reduced bacterial colonization, and combining it with halicin after infection synergistically enhanced this antimicrobial effect. However, this synergy was not observed in lung tissue models. 

The findings suggest sequential SAAP-148 and halicin treatments could be a promising strategy for preventing and treating resistant skin infections, if not airway-related infections

Citation: Lennard PR, Hiemstra PS, Dorin JR, Nibbering PH. JAC Antimicrob Resist. 2025 Apr 11;7(2):dlaf050. doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlaf050. PMID: 40224359; PMCID: PMC11986330.

The transcriptional and translational landscape of HCoV-OC43 infection

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a surge of interest in coronavirus biology but, understandably, the vast majority of studies focused exclusively on SARS-CoV-2. Other coronavirus species, including the endemic human pathogen HCoV-OC43, remain poorly characterized by comparison. 

To address this gap, researchers led by Dr. Stefan Bresson in the Centre for Cell Biology, used high-throughput transcriptomics and ribosome profiling to map the transcriptional and translational landscape throughout the course of OC43 infection.

Citation: Bresson S, Sani E, Armatowska A, Dixon C, Tollervey D. PLoS Pathog. 2025 Jan 27;21(1):e1012831. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012831. PMID: 39869630; PMCID: PMC11771880.

Proteins with proximal-distal asymmetries in axoneme localisation control flagellum beat frequency and Evolutionary adaptations of doublet microtubules in trypanosomatid parasites

Leishmania parasites rely on their single flagellum for motility and transmission via sandfly vectors. These two studies, involving Dr Richard Wheeler from the School of Biological Sciences, reveal that structural-functional asymmetries within the axoneme—especially involving outer dynein arms and region-specific docking complexes—are essential for swimming and flagellar beating. 

Together, they offer the first comprehensive analysis of both proximal-distal asymmetries and all axonemal microtubule-associated proteins necessary for motility, relevant for both parasite-specific and general eukaryotic biology.

Citation 1: Fort C, Walker BJ, Baert L, Wheeler RJ. Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 4;16(1):3237. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58405-1. PMID: 40185731; PMCID: PMC11971395.

Citation 2: Doran MH, Niu Q, Zeng J, Beneke T, Smith J, Ren P, Fochler S, Coscia A, Höög JL, Meleppattu S, Lishko PV, Wheeler RJ, Gluenz E, Zhang R, Brown A. Science. 2025 Mar 14;387(6739):eadr5507. doi: 10.1126/science.adr5507. Epub 2025 Mar 14. PMID: 40080577.

Read the first article here

Read the second article here

Farmer perceptions of clinical mastitis incidence, risk factors and epidemiology in meat-producing sheep flocks in the UK and the Republic of Ireland

Researchers from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute have been looking into farmer perceptions of clinical mastitis.

Mastitis has a negative effect on sheep health and welfare and causes significant economic losses to farmers. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of clinical mastitis in meat-producing sheep flocks in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and describe its variation between farming systems, countries and management practices.

A total of 103 responses were collected. The mean perceived incidence of clinical mastitis was 3.7 cases per 100 ewes per year. Flock size was negatively correlated with the perceived incidence of clinical mastitis.

Citation: Luque Castro A, Macrae A, Shaw DJ, Kelly R, Crilly JP, Murdoch F, Sargison N. Vet Rec. 2025 Apr 19;196(8):e5164. doi: 10.1002/vetr.5164. Epub 2025 Feb 17. PMID: 39960156; PMCID: PMC12007487.

Different factors control long-term versus short-term outcomes for bacterial colonisation of a urinary catheter

Researchers from School of Physics and Astronomy and the Clinical Infection Research Group have presented a mathematical model for bacterial colonization of urinary catheters, integrating population dynamics and fluid dynamics. The model describes bacteria migrating up the outside surface of the catheter, spreading into the bladder, and being swept through the catheter lumen. 

Simulations reveal that clinical outcomes for long-term versus short-term catheterization are controlled by different factors: the rate of urine production by the kidneys as opposed to urethral length, catheter surface properties, and bacterial motility. The work may help explain variable susceptibility to catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) among individuals and the mixed success of antimicrobial surface coatings. 

The model suggests that for long-term catheterized patients, increasing fluid intake or reducing residual urine volume in the bladder may help prevent infection, while antimicrobial surface coatings are predicted to be effective only for short-term catheterized patients.  

Citation: Bull F, Tavaddod S, Bommer N, Perry M, Brackley CA, Allen RJ. Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 26;16(1):3940. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59161-y. PMID: 40287414; PMCID: PMC12033313.

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