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Senior Investigator, Lady Davis Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, McGill UniversityDepartments of Medicine (Infectious Disease) and Diagnostic Medicine (Microbiology), Jewish General HospitalConsultant, Direction de santé publique de l’Agence de la santé et service sociaux de Montréal (Montreal Public Health Department)
Dr. Dascal's Publications Indexed on PubMed Dr. Andre Dascal joined the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) in 1987, prior to which he received fellowship training and held staff positions at the University of Massachusetts. As early as 1988, he was one of the first physicians to describe streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (flesh eating disease), and has maintained a keen interest in the clinical management of this disease ever since. At the JGH, he has been Associate Medical Director (1993-1996) and Chair of the Medical Executive Committee (1999-2002).
For the past fourteen years, Dr. Dascal has had a particular interest in emerging infections and bioterrorism. He is an infectious disease consultant to the Montreal Public Health Department, as well as other Quebec and Canadian organizations. In 2003, he volunteered to serve as an infectious disease clinician for the care of SARS patients in Toronto. He has delivered lectures to many public health and professional organizations on emerging infections, influenza pandemics, Clostridium difficile, bioterrorism and preparedness. During the past seven years, Dr. Dascal has undertaken molecular biology studies of the C. difficile outbreak in Quebec, in which he documented the new strain affecting the region. They resulted in a publication on the Montreal outbreak in New England Journal of Medicine (December 8, 2005), as well as the sequencing of the complete genome of this virulent strain (whole genome shotgun sequencing of first NAP1 Clostridium difficile QCD-32g58, NZ_AAML00000000, Dec 2006).Dr. Dascal is a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (FIDSA).
Major Research Activities
Emerging infections and bioterrorism: rapid detection, clinical management, education of professionals, and preparedness. Genomics and molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile, for which he has received grants or contracts from Genome Canada / Genome Quebec, FRSQ, CIHR, and Cepheid Inc.Safe building – Dr Dascal is a member of a multidisciplinary and multi-university group of researchers interested in the protection of buildings from chemical and biologic agents, This group has received a NSERC Strategic Grant (Prof. J. Kozinski PI).
Recent Publications
Oughton M, Dascal A, Laporta D, Charest H, Afilalo M, Miller M. Evidence of viremia in 2 cases of severe pandemic influenza A H1N1/09. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2011 Jun;70(2):213-7. Epub 2011 Mar 11.
Forgetta V, Oughton MT, Marquis P, Brukner I, Blanchette R, Haub K, Magrini V, Mardis ER, Gerding DN, Loo VG, Miller MA, Mulvey MR, Rupnik M, Dascal A, Dewar K. Fourteen-Genome Comparison Identifies DNA Markers for Severe-Disease-Associated Strains of Clostridium difficile. J Clin Microbiol. 2011 Jun;49(6):2230-8. Epub 2011 Apr 20.
Allard R, Dascal A, Camara B, Létourneau J, Valiquette L. Community-acquired Clostridium difficile – associated diarrhea, Montreal 2005-2006 frequency estimates and their validity. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2011 Oct; 32(10): 1032-4. Epub 2011 Aug 10.
Loo VG, Bourgault AM, Poirier L, Lamothe F, Michaud S, Turgeon N, Toye B, Beaudoin A, Frost EH, Gilca R, Brassard P, Dendukuri N, Béliveau C, Oughton M, Brukner I, Dascal A. Host and pathogen factors for Clostridium difficile infection and colonization. N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov 3;365(18):1693-703.
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