Gabriel Chamie, MD
My TB-related research focuses on how HIV influences TB transmission dynamics in Africa. Characterizing recent TB transmission networks, identifying sites of ongoing TB transmission, and understanding how HIV influences TB transmission are all critical steps in developing novel, strategic intensified TB case-finding approaches in Africa. My research aims to address whether recent TB transmission in this high HIV prevalence setting takes place in community gathering and health care sites, as opposed to households, and HIV-infected persons are at significantly increased risk of recent TB transmission compared to HIV-uninfected persons, through analysis of the geographic distribution and social networks of genotype-clustered incident TB cases. We combine molecular epidemiologic, geospatial and social network data to identify TB transmission "hot spots", characterized by high levels of TB transmission. These "hot spots" may occur in commercial, social (e.g. markets, bars, churches), or health care settings. We will investigate how HIV influences where TB is transmitted at a community level and pilot test a place-based intensified TB case-finding strategy at two identified locations of high TB transmission risk.