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Overview and significance of molecular methods: what role for molecular epidemiology?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 1999

R. C. A. THOMPSON ,
C. C. CONSTANTINE  and
U. M. MORGAN
R. C. A. THOMPSON
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, and Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia 6150
C. C. CONSTANTINE
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, and Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia 6150
U. M. MORGAN
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, and Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia 6150
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Abstract

In this chapter, the contribution of molecular tools in understanding the aetiology and ecology of infectious diseases is examined in the context of molecular epidemiology (ME). ME is seen as providing the ‘tools’, both laboratory and analytical, which have predictive significance in epidemiological investigations of the causation of disease. A diversity of questions can be addressed with these tools which can conveniently be viewed as particular regions of DNA and grouped according to the different hierarchical levels of specificity by which infectious agents can be characterized. These groupings and the applications of the different molecular tools are described, and consideration given to the most appropriate methods of analysing data from ME investigations.

Keywords

Molecular epidemiologyinfectious diseasesmolecular toolsparasites
Type
Future trends
Information
Parasitology , Volume 117 , Issue 7 , November 1999 , pp. 161 - 175
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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