Jamie Childs, ScD
Lecturer in Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)Cards
About
Research
Overview
My research has focused on the transmission of zoonotic pathogens to humans. I have focused on the acquisition, maintenance and transmission of infectious agents within natural reservoir-host species and on the risk factors contributing to human infection and disease. My interests include directly-transmitted zoonotic viruses, such as
the
hantaviruses, arenaviruses and rabies, and vector-borne bacteria,
including
rickettsia, bartonella and borrelia.My current interests and research, conducted
in collaboration with Dr. Albert Ko, Division Chief at Yale, and Fleur
Porter, an MPH candidate, focus
on the ecoepidemiology of intra- and inter-specific transmission of
leptospires
in an urban slum setting in Salvador, Brazil. The Norway rat (Rattus
norvegicus) is the principal reservoir host for leptospires
causing human disease in Salvador, however, scant knowledge exists on
the mechanisms
of acquisition, maintenance and shedding of this bacterium by rats.
Humans
are directly infected by leptospires through contact with environments
contaminated with spirochetes
shed in the urine of infected rats Defining parameters of the natural
history
of leptospiral infection within individual rats and within rat
populations, coupled
with determinations of critical environmental and ecological features
underlying the distribution
and density of rat populations, will help elucidate risk factors for
human
infection and disease.
Medical Research Interests
Arenavirus; Bartonella; Borrelia; Global Health; Leptospira; Lyme Disease; Orthohantavirus; Rabies; Rickettsia; Zoonoses
Public Health Interests
Zoonotic Diseases
News
News
- April 17, 2018Source: NPR
New York City Mice Carry Bacteria That Can Make People Sick
- October 29, 2014
Ebola’s Growing Toll
- October 28, 2014Source: Yale Daily News
Epidemic may be worse than previously thought, Ebola expert says
- October 15, 2014
Campus events aim to raise awareness about, funds for Ebola crisis