Infection Research

A bacterial pathogen called Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in developed countries and is thought to be transmitted from chickens to humans.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections encountered in individuals of all ages. They affect over 4 million people in the UK every year, and account for 1-3% of GP consultations.

Antibiotics have been the backbone of medical advances and treatment for decades but this ability to kill harmful bacteria is threatened, both now and in the future, by the development of resistance in those bacteria to these lifesaving drugs.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognised as one of the major threats to human health, and is currently believed to be the cause for at least 50,000 deaths each year across Europe and the US alone. Due to AMR, it is estimated that global consumption of antibiotics in human medicine has increased by 40% between 2000 and 2010.

Recurrent bacterial infections that are resilient to treatment are a huge clinical challenge. Lucy Frost works with scientists and clinicians at Warwick Medical School to understand how bacteria invade and survive our host defence systems.