Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow in Public Health and Tropical Medicine; Associate Professor, Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town; Member of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular (IDM), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town; Winner of the 2015 Union Scientific Prize, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
Helen Cox is an epidemiologist specialising in drug-resistant tuberculosis, with expertise in TB diagnostics and treatment. Specific research interests include: the molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant TB, models of care and optimising treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB, co-treatment of HIV with antiretroviral drugs, rapid diagnostics for tuberculosis drug resistance and developing sustainable interventions to improve TB infection control in health care facilities.
Current projects include:
A systems approach to evaluating prospects for the control of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Khayelitsha, South Africa.
Feasibility and impact of GeneXpert for TB and drug-resistant TB diagnosis.
Outcomes of decentralised programmatic management of drug-resistant TB in Khayelitsha.
Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant TB in Central Asia and South Africa.
Linkage to care among patients diagnosed with rifampicin-resistant TB across South Africa.
Selected publications:
Cox H, Mizrahi V. The Coming of Age of Drug-Susceptibility Testing for Tuberculosis. N Engl J Med 2018.
Cox H, Hughes J, Black J, Nicol MP. Precision medicine for drug-resistant tuberculosis in high-burden countries: is individualised treatment desirable and feasible? Lancet Infect Dis 2018; 18(9): e282-e7.
Cox H, Dickson-Hall L, Jassat W, et al. Drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa: history, progress and opportunities for achieving universal access to diagnosis and treatment. South African Health Review2017: 157-67.
Cox H, Dickson-Hall L, Ndjeka N, et al. Delays and loss to follow-up before treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis following implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF in South Africa: A retrospective cohort study. PLoS Med 2017; 14(2): e1002238.
Cox HS, Furin JJ, Mitnick CD, Daniels C, Cox V, Goemaere E. The need to accelerate access to new drugs for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Bull World Health Organ 2015; 93(7): 491-7.
Cox H, Escombe R, McDermid C, et al. Wind-driven roof turbines: a novel way to improve ventilation for TB infection control in health facilities. PLoS One 2012; 7(1): e29589.
Cox HS, Sibilia K, Feuerriegel S, et al. Emergence of extensive drug resistance during treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. N Engl J Med 2008; 359(22): 2398-400.
Contact details:
Division of Medical Microbiology
Department of Pathology
Room 5.24, Falmouth Building
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine
UCT Faculty of Health Sciences
Observatory 7925
South Africa
Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant TB in Khayelitsha: Prof Robin Warren, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant TB in Khayelitsha: Prof Sebastien Gagneux, Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology and the Tuberculosis Research Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health institute, Switzerland.
Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant TB in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan: Prof Stefan Niemann, Molecular Mycobacteriology, Research Centre Borstel, Germany
Evaluation of decentralised drug-resistant care in Khayelitsha: Médecins Sans Frontières, South Africa
Optimising decentralised care for drug-resistant TB in South Africa: Prof Mark Nicol, Division of Medical Microbiology and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town