This is one direction we're interested in through the #CampylobacterControlCampaign. By combining #OneHealth genomic surveillance with population genomics and #ReverseVaccinology, we can ask: Which antigens and which combinations give the broadest protection against the #Campylobacter?

And why vaccinate the chicken rather than us? Human #Campylobacter vaccines are another possibility. But the problem changes again: immunity is incompletely understood, exposure differs between populations, and repeated infection and asymptomatic carriage are common in high-burden settings.

🧬 Genomics can do more than tell us which strains to vaccinate against. Reverse Vaccinology turns the problem around: Start with 1,000s of genomes → search for conserved, accessible proteins → prioritise potential vaccine antigens. Let the bacterial population tell us what makes a good vaccine.

What if the #vaccine matched the #Campylobacter population on the farm? 💉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... We used genomic surveillance to identify the strains circulating within a poultry population to design tailored autogenous vaccines. 🧬 sequence → 🎯 select → 💉 vaccinate

💉 A vaccine doesn't necessarily need to eliminate #Campylobacter. Less Campylobacter entering the #foodchain should mean less opportunity for contamination, and ultimately fewer human infections. Even a partial reduction could therefore have real #publichealth value.

🧵 If chickens are such an important source of #Campylobacter infection, why don't we just vaccinate them? Vaccinate the chicken → reduce Campylobacter → fewer human infections. Researchers have been trying for decades. So why don't we have a vaccine? 👇 #MicroSky #OneHealth

Chickens usually carry #Campylobacter without becoming ill. That means large flocks can harbour huge numbers of bacteria while appearing completely healthy. During processing, contamination of meat can occur, making poultry one of the major sources of human infection worldwide.

🧵 How did chickens become the world's biggest source of Campylobacter? Changes in agriculture have transformed chickens into the world's largest reservoir of one of our most common bacterial pathogens. Here's the story... 👇 #MicroSky #OneHealth

5️⃣ Knowing the genome isn't enough. Even with whole-genome sequencing, we still need context. Where was it sampled? From a child? A chicken? Water? Livestock? Genomics only becomes truly powerful when it's combined with good epidemiology and representative sampling.

4️⃣ The genome never sits still. Campylobacter evolves remarkably quickly. Frequent recombination allows lineages to exchange DNA, generating extraordinary genetic diversity, and makes #surveillance, #sourceattribution and #vaccinedevelopment much more challenging.

3️⃣ Infection doesn't always mean disease. In many high-burden settings, healthy children can carry Campylobacter without diarrhoea. Why some infections cause disease while others don't is still one of the biggest unanswered questions in Campylobacter research.

2️⃣ Chickens usually don't get sick. Commercial poultry can carry huge numbers of Campylobacter without showing outward signs of disease. That makes detection and control much harder than diseases where infected animals become visibly ill.

1️⃣ It doesn't belong to one host. Campylobacter is a classic #OneHealth pathogen. It's commonly found in: 🐔 poultry 🐄 cattle 🐑 sheep 🦆 wild birds 🐕 pets 💧 water 🌱 the environment That means there isn't one transmission pathway - or one simple solution.

🧵 GETCampy Stories #3 Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Yet we still don't have a licensed human vaccine, and reducing infections remains surprisingly difficult. Why? 👇 #MicroSky #OneHealth #Campylobacter

Over the coming months we'll be sharing how these approaches are being applied to Campylobacter populations across Africa. Ultimately, the goal isn't simply to understand transmission. It's to generate evidence that helps reduce disease. #MicroSky #OneHealth

Why does this matter? If poultry causes the most infections: 🐔 Improve poultry biosecurity If water is important: 💧 Improve water quality If transmission is predominantly within households: 🏡 Design different interventions Source attribution helps target resources where they have the most impact

By comparing genomes from humans, animals and the environment, we can identify which reservoirs harbour genetically similar populations. Combined with epidemiology and ML, this allows us to estimate the relative contribution of different reservoirs to human infection. Not certainty. Probability.

Traditional epidemiology relies on questionnaires, contact tracing and microbiology. These remain incredibly valuable, but many enteric pathogens circulate across multiple hosts and environments simultaneously. That's where genomics adds another layer of evidence.

When someone develops diarrhoea, identifying the pathogen is only part of the story. The next question is: **Where did they acquire it?** From poultry? Livestock? Water? The household? The wider environment? Different sources require different interventions.

🧵 GETCampy Stories #2 We spend a lot of time asking: **Where did this infection come from?** It sounds like a simple question. In reality, it's one of the hardest, and most important, questions in infectious disease epidemiology. 👇

Where do you think the biggest opportunities are for applying #genomicepidemiology to improve #childhealth in LMICs? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

This paper represents an incredible collaborative effort. 🇬🇲 The Gambia @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social 🇬🇭 Ghana 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 🇬🇧 United Kingdom @biology.ox.ac.uk @ineosoxford.bsky.social Thank you to all our collaborators, especially the participating children, families, field teams and lab staff.

GETCampy is about much more than genomes. 🔬 microbiology 🧬 genomics 💻 bioinformatics 🤝 equitable partnerships 🎓 training the next generation of researchers

#GETCampy links: 👧 children with diarrhoea 🏡 households 🐔 livestock 💧 water 🌍 environmental sampling using a #OneHealth framework across multiple African countries. We then combine: 🧬 whole-genome sequencing 🧪 metagenomics 🤖 machine learning to ID infection reservoirs and transmission pathways.

Diarrhoea remains one of the leading causes of childhood illness across many parts of Africa. To prevent infection, we first need to understand where pathogens come from. Understanding reservoirs is the first step towards effective control. #OneHealth #Genomics #GlobalHealth

This paper represents a huge collaborative effort involving 48 authors from Africa, Europe and beyond. A particular thank you to all our partners in: 🇬🇲 The Gambia 🇬🇭 Ghana 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso —and especially the participating children, families, field teams and laboratory staff.

GETCampy is about much more than generating genomes. The programme supports: 🔬 laboratory training 🧬 genomic surveillance 📊 bioinformatics 🤝 equitable international partnerships 🌍 local research capacity

GETCampy links: 👧 Children with diarrhoea 🏡 Households 🐔 Livestock 💧 Water 🌍 Environment using a One Health sampling framework, we combine: 🧬 Whole-genome sequencing 🧪 Metagenomics 🤖 Machine learning to identify infection reservoirs.

Every year, enteric infections cause an enormous burden of disease across Africa, particularly in young children. Yet we still often don't know where infections originate. Understanding transmission is the first step towards effective control.

Great week in The Gambia launching the Campylobacter Control Campaign (CCC). Researchers from 🇬🇲 🇳🇬 🇨🇮 🇬🇧 met at the MRC Unit The Gambia to plan a new multi-country genomic surveillance programme for Campylobacter. Excited to see this collaboration grow. #Campylobacter #OneHealth