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Dr Katharina Kranzer

FRCPath MRCP MBBS MSc MSc PhD

Professor
Infectious Disease Epidemiology

LSHTM
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

Tel.
020 7927 2116

I am a Professor at LSHTM, an Honorary Consultant in Medical Microbiology at the University College London Hospital and hold an appointment at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. I am based in Harare, Zimbabwe where I am deputy director of the Zim-LSHTM Research Partnership, a partnership between the LSHTM and the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI) in Harare, Zimbabwe.

My Phd (2008-2011), which was funded by the Wellcome Trust, focused on the role of active TB case finding and antiretroviral therapy for TB control in high HIV prevalence settings. From 2015-2018 I directed the National and WHO Supranational TB Reference Laboratory in Germany, Research Centre Borstel.

Together with Dr Norbert Heinrich I lead an EDCTP-funded TB household contact study (ERASE-TB) with the aim to evaluate new diagnostic tests and algorithms to diagnose TB before transmission occurs, earlier than current diagnostic approaches and to identify those most at risk for developing TB to allow targeted preventive treatment. I am chief scientist for an EDCTP-funded cluster randomised trial (TB-CAPT) led by the Foundation of Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) investigating the effect of near patient TB diagnostics (Omni Xpert/Ultra) on time to TB treatment initiation.  

I am involved in a number of studies investigating antimicrobial resistance in Africa. In collaboration with Dr Tom Darton at the University of Sheffield and Dr Justin Dixon we are investigating the effect of the 2019 conjugated typhoid vaccine campaign on antimicrobial prescribing in Harare, Zimbabwe.

In 2020 I contributed as a member of the guideline development group to the WHO guidelines on systematic TB screening and nucleic acid amplification tests for detection of TB and drug resistant TB.

Affiliations

Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
Department of Clinical Research

Centres

TB Centre

Teaching

I am module organiser and lecturer on the HIV module in London. Furthermore I am a member of the faculty of the NIH Fogarthy Training for Research Excellence and Mentorship in Tuberculosis Program (TRENT). I regulalry supervise MSc projects and (co)supervise several PhD students. Most of them are based and work in Zimbabwe. 

I am particularly committed to capacity building. In my previous role as the director of the WHO Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory we partnered with national and regional laboratories in Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and Ghana. Together with members of my team I regularly conducted supervisory visits in country and delivered teaching on new (molecular) diagnostics, quality managements and laboratory information systems.

Research

  • Tuberculosis: Diagnostics including drug susceptibility testing, epidemiology, prevention & control, livelihood
  • Sexual transmitted diseases: Diagnostics (point of care) and linkage to care
  • Antimicrobial resistance: Epidemiology, surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control
  • COVID-19: Epidemiology, direct and indirect effects on health care workers and access to health care

 

Research Area
Bacteria
Clinical care
Clinical guidelines
Clinical trials
Diagnostics
Adolescent health
Capacity strengthening
Disease control
Global Health
Implementation research
Discipline
Bacteriology
Epidemiology
Medicine
Microbiology
Disease and Health Conditions
HIV/AIDS
Infectious disease
Tuberculosis
Country
Mozambique
Pakistan
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Region
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)
World

Selected Publications

Evaluation of a Novel Culture System for Rapid Pathogen Identification and Detection of Cephalosporin Resistance in Neonatal Gram-negative Sepsis at a Tertiary Referral Unit in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Chimhini G; Olaru ID; Fitzgerald F; Chisenga M; Ferreyra C; Malou N; Piton J; Chimhuya S; Yeung S; De S
2021
The Pediatric infectious disease journal
Community SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence before and after the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Fryatt A; Simms V; Bandason T; Redzo N; Olaru ID; Ndhlovu CE; Mujuru H; Rusakaniko S; Hoelscher M; Rubio-Acero R
2021
EClinicalMedicine
Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Kavenga F; Rickman HM; Chingono R; Taruvinga T; Marembo T; Manasa J; Marambire E; McHugh G; Gregson CL; Bandason T
2021
PloS one
Identifying youth at high risk for sexually transmitted infections in community-based settings using a risk prediction tool: a validation study.
Kranzer K; Simms V; Dauya E; Olaru ID; Dziva Chikwari C; Martin K; Redzo N; Bandason T; Tembo M; Francis SC
2021
BMC Infectious Diseases
Uptake of and factors associated with testing for sexually transmitted infections in community-based settings among youth in Zimbabwe: a mixed-methods study.
Martin K; Olaru ID; Buwu N; Bandason T; Marks M; Dauya E; Muzangwa J; Mabey D; Dziva Chikwari C; Francis SC
2021
The Lancet. Child & adolescent health
Prevalence of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in adults with and without HIV presenting with urinary tract infections to primary care clinics in Zimbabwe.
Olaru ID; Ferrand RA; Chisenga M; Yeung S; Macrae B; Chonzi P; Stabler RA; Hopkins H; Mabey D; Masunda KPE
2021
JAC-antimicrobial resistance
The association between antimicrobial resistance and HIV infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Olaru ID; Tacconelli E; Yeung S; Ferrand RA; Stabler RA; Hopkins H; Aiken AM; Kranzer K
2021
Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
The natural history of TB disease-a synthesis of data to quantify progression and regression across the spectrum
Richards AS; Sossen B; Emery JC; Horton KC; Heinsohn T; Frascella B; Balzarini F; Oradini-Alacreu A; Hacker B; Odone A
2021
MDR M. tuberculosis outbreak clone in Eswatini missed by Xpert has elevated bedaquiline resistance dated to the pre-treatment era.
Beckert P; Sanchez-Padilla E; Merker M; Dreyer V; Kohl TA; Utpatel C; Köser CU; Barilar I; Ismail N; Omar SV
2020
GENOME MEDICINE
Antibiotics, rational drug use and the architecture of global health in Zimbabwe.
Dixon J; Manyau S; Kandiye F; Kranzer K; Chandler CIR
2020
Social Science & Medicine
Addressing the challenges and relational aspects of index-linked HIV testing for children and adolescents: insights from the B-GAP study in Zimbabwe.
Dziva Chikwari C; Bernays S; Dringus S; Simms V; Weiss HA; Sibanda E; Kranzer K; Ncube G; Chikodzore R; Webb K
2020
Implementation science communications
A Diagnostic Algorithm To Investigate Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol Resistance in Rifampin-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates in a Low-Incidence Setting.
Andres S; Gröschel MI; Hillemann D; Merker M; Niemann S; Kranzer K
2019
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
Introduction of quality management in a National Reference Laboratory in Germany.
Homolka S; Zallet J; Albert H; Witt A-K; Kranzer K
2019
PloS one
Emergence of Low-level Delamanid and Bedaquiline Resistance During Extremely Drug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment.
Polsfuss S; Hofmann-Thiel S; Merker M; Krieger D; Niemann S; Rüssmann H; Schönfeld N; Hoffmann H; Kranzer K
2019
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Adolescent tuberculosis.
Snow KJ; Cruz AT; Seddon JA; Ferrand RA; Chiang SS; Hughes JA; Kampmann B; Graham SM; Dodd PJ; Houben RM
2019
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
What if They Don't Have Tuberculosis? The Consequences and Trade-offs Involved in False-positive Diagnoses of Tuberculosis.
Houben RMGJ; Lalli M; Kranzer K; Menzies NA; Schumacher SG; Dowdy DW
2018
Clinical infectious diseases
Differential drug susceptibility patterns of Mycobacterium chimaera and other members of the Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex.
Maurer FP; Pohle P; Kernbach M; Sievert D; Hillemann D; Rupp J; Hombach M; Kranzer K
2018
Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Impact of quality improvement in tuberculosis laboratories in low- and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review.
Olaru ID; Albert H; Zallet J; Werner U-E; Ahmed N; Rieder HL; Salfinger M; Kranzer K
2018
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE
A cluster of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among patients arriving in Europe from the Horn of Africa: a molecular epidemiological study.
Walker TM; Merker M; Knoblauch AM; Helbling P; Schoch OD; van der Werf MJ; Kranzer K; Fiebig L; Kröger S; Haas W
2018
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Erratum
2017
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Chronic Lung Disease in Children and Adolescents in Zimbabwe: Chest Radiographic and High-Resolution Computed Tomographic Findings.
Desai SR; Nair A; Rylance J; Mujuru H; Nathoo K; McHugh G; Majonga E; Metcalfe J; Kranzer K; Ferrand RA
2017
Clinical infectious diseases
How should discordance between molecular and growth-based assays for rifampicin resistance be investigated?
Hofmann-Thiel S; Hoffmann H; Hillemann D; Rigouts L; Van Deun A; Kranzer K
2017
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease
Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission from patients with drug-resistant compared to drug-susceptible TB: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kodama C; Lange B; Olaru ID; Khan P; Lipman M; Seddon JA; Sloan D; Grandjean L; Ferrand RA; Kranzer K
2017
The European respiratory journal
Loss to follow-up among children and adolescents growing up with HIV infection: age really matters.
Kranzer K; Bradley J; Musaazi J; Nyathi M; Gunguwo H; Ndebele W; Dixon M; Ndhlovu M; Rehman A; Khan P
2017
Journal of the International AIDS Society
Economic incentives for HIV testing by adolescents in Zimbabwe: a randomised controlled trial.
Kranzer K; Simms V; Bandason T; Dauya E; McHugh G; Munyati S; Chonzi P; Dakshina S; Mujuru H; Weiss HA
2017
The lancet HIV
Can tuberculosis patients in resource-constrained settings afford chest radiography?
Pedrazzoli D; Lalli M; Boccia D; Houben R; Kranzer K
2017
The European respiratory journal
Community burden of undiagnosed HIV infection among adolescents in Zimbabwe following primary healthcare-based provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling: A cross-sectional survey.
Simms V; Dauya E; Dakshina S; Bandason T; McHugh G; Munyati S; Chonzi P; Kranzer K; Ncube G; Masimirembwa C
2017
PLoS medicine
Global outbreak of severe Mycobacterium chimaera disease after cardiac surgery: a molecular epidemiological study.
van Ingen J; Kohl TA; Kranzer K; Hasse B; Keller PM; Katarzyna Szafrańska A; Hillemann D; Chand M; Schreiber PW; Sommerstein R
2017
The Lancet. Infectious diseases
Implementation and Operational Research: The Effectiveness of Routine Opt-Out HIV Testing for Children in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Ferrand RA; Meghji J; Kidia K; Dauya E; Bandason T; Mujuru H; Ncube G; Mungofa S; Kranzer K
2016
Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)
Management of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: WHO guidelines for low tuberculosis burden countries.
Getahun H; Matteelli A; Abubakar I; Aziz MA; Baddeley A; Barreira D; Den Boon S; Borroto Gutierrez SM; Bruchfeld J; Burhan E
2015
The European respiratory journal
Uptake and yield of HIV testing and counselling among children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Govindasamy D; Ferrand RA; Wilmore SM; Ford N; Ahmed S; Afnan-Holmes H; Kranzer K
2015
Journal of the International AIDS Society
Maximising the benefits of home-based HIV testing.
Ferrand R; Ford N; Kranzer K
2014
The lancet HIV
Strength of recommendations in WHO guidelines using GRADE was associated with uptake in national policy.
Nasser SMU; Cooke G; Kranzer K; Norris SL; Olliaro P; Ford N
2014
Journal of clinical epidemiology
The benefits to communities and individuals of screening for active tuberculosis disease: a systematic review.
Kranzer K; Afnan-Holmes H; Tomlin K; Golub JE; Shapiro AE; Schaap A; Corbett EL; Lönnroth K; Glynn JR
2013
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease
Community viral load and CD4 count distribution among people living with HIV in a South African Township: implications for treatment as prevention.
Kranzer K; Lawn SD; Johnson LF; Bekker L-G; Wood R
2013
Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)
Quantifying and addressing losses along the continuum of care for people living with HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Kranzer K; Govindasamy D; Ford N; Johnston V; Lawn SD
2012
Journal of the International AIDS Society
Feasibility, yield, and cost of active tuberculosis case finding linked to a mobile HIV service in Cape Town, South Africa: a cross-sectional study.
Kranzer K; Lawn SD; Meyer-Rath G; Vassall A; Raditlhalo E; Govindasamy D; van Schaik N; Wood R; Bekker L-G
2012
PLoS medicine
Yield of HIV-associated tuberculosis during intensified case finding in resource-limited settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kranzer K; Houben RM; Glynn JR; Bekker L-G; Wood R; Lawn SD
2010
The Lancet infectious diseases
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