Dylan Barth
Honorary Research Associate
B.Tech, MPH, PhD
dylan.barth@telethonkids.org.au
+61 8 6319 1314
Dr Barth has a vast array of skills and expertise in disease surveillance and in undertaking epidemiological studies. During his doctoral training at the University of Cape Town, he led the establishment of an African-wide disease registry and biorepository for Strep A infection (The AFROStrep Study). His work represented an important milestone in rheumatic heart disease programs within Africa, given that Strep A plays an initiating role in the development of the disease which results in the mortality of many of Africa’s children.
In May 2018, Dr Barth relocated to Australia to join the world-leading Strep A, rheumatic heart disease and skin health team at The Kids Research Institute Australia under the expert guidance of Associate Professor Asha Bowen and Professor Jonathan Carapetis. Dr Barth is leading a school-based prospective surveillance study in the Kimberley WA (The Missing Piece Study) which aims to determine the burden of Strep A pharyngitis in the context of a high prevalence of impetigo to be able to inform evidence-based prevention strategies for rheumatic heart disease in Australia.
Dr Barth’s expertise in epidemiology, surveillance systems, registries and biorepositories, and his experience from the African perspective is well-regarded as he seeks to serve, arguably, the most marginalised people in the world by striving to understand how to prevent Acute Rheumatic Fever in Australian Aboriginal children.
Projects
END RHD Community Project - Kimberley (Rheumatic Fever Strategy)
The Missing Piece Surveillance Study: A surveillance study for strep A pharyngitis and impetigo in the Kimberley, Australia
The Missing Piece Surveillance Study is a prospective surveillance study to determine the concurrent burden of skin and throat infections in children, from two remote communities in Northern Australia.
Science of the swab: optimising Strep A typing from clinical samples
Published research
Correlating Quantitative and Genomic SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Data with Clinical Metrics in Metropolitan Perth, Western Australia
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a key method for the continuous monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence including circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages. WBE addresses the limitations of traditional clinical COVID-19 surveillance such as clinical test availability, fluctuating testing rates, and increased reliance on rapid antigen tests.
Standardization of Epidemiological Surveillance of Group A Streptococcal Impetigo
Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the superficial layer of skin. Impetigo is caused by group A Streptococcus (Strep A) and Staphylococcus aureus, alone or in combination, with the former predominating in many tropical climates. Strep A impetigo occurs mainly in early childhood, and the burden varies worldwide. It is an acute, self-limited disease, but many children experience frequent recurrences that make it a chronic illness in some endemic settings.
Roadmap to incorporating group A Streptococcus molecular point-of-care testing for remote Australia: a key activity to eliminate rheumatic heart disease
Missing Piece Study protocol: Prospective surveillance to determine the epidemiology of group A streptococcal pharyngitis and impetigo in remote Western Australia
Group A β-haemolytic Streptococcus (GAS), a Gram-positive bacterium, causes skin, mucosal and systemic infections. Repeated GAS infections can lead to autoimmune diseases acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia have the highest rates of ARF and RHD in the world.
Spatial codistribution of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in Ethiopia
HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are the three most important infectious diseases in Ethiopia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the spatial codistribution of these diseases is critical for designing geographically targeted and integrated disease control programmes. This study investigated the spatial overlap and drivers of HIV, TB and malaria prevalence in Ethiopia.
Modes of transmission and attack rates of group A Streptococcal infection: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity globally. This bacterium is responsible for a range of different infections and post-infectious sequelae. Summarising the current knowledge of Strep A transmission to humans will address gaps in the evidence and inform prevention and control strategies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the modes of transmission and attack rates of group A streptococcal infection in human populations.
Performance and Practicality of a Rapid Molecular Test for the Diagnosis of Strep A Pharyngitis in a Remote Australian Setting
Over 5 days, 120 schoolchildren from two schools in the remote Kimberley region of Australia were screened for Strep A pharyngitis. Molecular point-of-care testing identified Strep A pharyngitis in 13/18 (72.2%) symptomatic children. The portability and feasibility of molecular point-of-care testing was highly practical for remote settings.
The incidence of sore throat and group A streptococcal pharyngitis in children at high risk of developing acute rheumatic fever: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis has traditionally been considered the sole precursor of acute rheumatic fever (ARF). Evidence from Australia, however, suggests that GAS skin infections may contribute to the pathogenesis of ARF.
Molecular Epidemiology of Noninvasive and Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections in Cape Town
There is low coverage of the multivalent M protein vaccine in our setting, emphasizing the need to reformulate the vaccine to improve coverage
Education and Qualifications
- PhD (Medicine) – University of Cape Town
- MPH (Epidemiology) – University of Cape Town
- B.Tech (Hons) Environmental Health - CPUT
Awards/Honours
- 2019: Adjunct Research Fellow at University of Western Australia. Department of Health and Medical Sciences. Perth, Western Australia
- 2018: END RHD CRE Funding. Project: The Missing Piece Study: A surveillance study for Strep A in Australia.
- 2017: Newton RCUK PhD Scholarship: Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford (15 July – 15 December 2017)
- 2014 – 2017: National Research Foundation of South Africa – PhD innovation Scholarship
- 2015 – 2016: National Research Foundation PhD Travel Scholarship
- 2014 – 2017: Knowledge, Interchange and Collaboration Travel Scholarship
- 2014 – 2017: UCT PhD Fees Scholarship Award
- 2014 – 2016: UCT PhD Award
- 2013: National Research Foundation of South Africa – Master of Public Health
- 2013: NRF Travel Scholarship (Health GIS Conference in Bangkok Thailand)
- 2013: Guy Elliot Scholarship Award
- 2013: Young Scientist Scholarship Award – 6th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
Active Collaborations
- Strep A and Rheumatic Heart Disease Research Collaborations with Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town
Other Publications
- Barth DD, Zühlke LJ, Joachim A, Hoegger T, Mayosi B, Engel ME. Effect of distance to health facility on the maintenance of INR therapeutic ranges in rheumatic heart disease patients from Cape Town: No evidence for an association. BMC Health Services Research 2015; 15:219
- Jabar A, Barth DD, Matzopoulos R, Engel ME. Is the introduction of violence and injury observatories associated with a reduction of violence in adult populations? Rationale and protocol for a systematic review. BMJ Open 2015. In press
- Barth D, Mayosi BM, Jabar A, Engel ME. Prevalence of Group A streptococcal disease in North and Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review protocol. BMJ Open, 2015;5:e0086
- Barth DD, Engel ME, et al. Rationale and design of the African group A streptococcal infection registry: the AFROStrep Study. BMJ Open, 2016.
- Engel ME, Cohen K, Gounden R, Kengne AP, Barth DD, Whitelaw AC, Francis V, Badri M, Stewart A, Dale JB, Mayosi BM, Maartens G. The Cape Town Clinical Decision Rule for Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Children. PJID, 2017
- Barth DD, Mayosi BM, Badri M, Whitelaw A, Engel ME. 2017. Invasive and non-invasive group A β-haemolytic streptococcal infections in patients attending public sector facilities in South Africa: 2003–2015. Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases, pp.1-6 (2017). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23120053.2017.1376546.
- Jabar A, Fong F, Chavira M, Cerqueira M, Barth DD, Matzopoulos R, Engel ME. Is the introduction of violence and injury observatories associated with a reduction in violence-related injury in adult populations? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open.