A Longitudinal, Source-Attribution Study of Campylobacter Emergence and Transmission in Rural Bangladesh to Inform Intervention Development

Amira Roess of George Washington University in the U.S. will perform a longitudinal study of Campylobacter transmission in rural Bangladesh to determine all the routes of transmission to young children, both within households and from the environment. Campylobacter is a major cause of diarrheal disease in children under five years of age, but transmission routes in low- to middle-income settings are largely unknown, making it hard to control. They will recruit 400 households with pregnant women across a selection of villages with different scales of poultry production, as chickens are a major source of transmission. They will sequence monthly fecal samples from the family and any livestock, as well as soil and water samples, to detect the presence and subtypes of Campylobacter. They will also collect data on human-animal interactions, illnesses, and food preparation methods. These will be used to build mathematical models of the routes of transmission and to evaluate the impact of vaccine-based interventions.