Infrastructure

Rebecca Traub of the University of Melbourne in Australia will develop a method to preserve fresh stool so that it can be transported over longer distances to central laboratories and used to diagnose intestinal parasites and monitor the different types. They will test two types of preservation, a 5% weight/volume potassium dichromate solution and 10% formalin, on the accuracy of identifying three different types of helminth eggs in fecal samples from infected individuals in Thailand over 120 days.

Kenneth Stedman of Portland State University in the U.S. will test a low-cost and simple method for simultaneously collecting and stabilizing stool samples that can be used for diagnosing helminth infections in remote locations. The samples allow quantification of eggs from the helminth parasite, which causes intestinal infections that are endemic in many developing regions, and will help monitor large-scale treatment efforts. The method is based on his vaccine-stabilization technology, which was developed along with James Laidler at Portland State University.

Thomas Egwang of Med Biotech Laboratories in Uganda will develop a reformulated medium derived from mammalian cell culture medium that is optimized for storage and preservation of stool-derived helminth eggs. Diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminth infections, which cause considerable morbidity in developing countries, involves microscopic examination of fecal samples. The accuracy of these methods depends on how well the sample has been preserved since collection.

Paulo Saldiva of the University of São Paolo in Brazil will develop minimally invasive autopsies as a method combining body imaging with needle puncture of the skin to sample tissue to more accurately determine the cause of death that can also be used in low-resource settings. Knowing the cause of each death is critical for developing effective health policies to prevent avoidable deaths such as those from infectious diseases.

Axel Scherer of the California Institute of Technology in the U.S., along with collaborators at Dartmouth, will develop a prototype quantitative PCR (qPCR) amplification/detection component module that can rapidly detect a wide range of pathogens with low cost, low internal and outward complexity, low power consumption, a small size, and a rugged design.

Rick Haselton, David Wright and Ray Mernaugh of Vanderbilt University in the U.S. propose to develop a sample processing technology that uses the surface tension between fluids as valves to separate, concentrate, and purify pathogen biomarkers. The proposed device aims to improve on existing biomarker extraction technologies in cost, simplicity, and speed.

Theresa Gyorkos of McGill University in Canada and colleagues will investigate whether treating worm infections in lactating women has a beneficial effect on breast milk production and on infant and maternal health. They will conduct a double blind, randomized, controlled trial in Peruvian mothers following in-hospital delivery, and analyze the effect of de-worming on quantity and quality of breast milk, maternal anemia, and infant growth and morbidity, over a 24-month period.

Our bold idea is to strengthen trauma care in Kenya by creating a national trauma system. We are developing strategic ""trauma hubs” and ambulance services using existing infrastructure to decentralize trauma care and improve access and outcomes.

In developing countries, in absence of 911 emergency systems, medical emergency is provided by isolated providers with varying capability, resulting in inefficient and fragmented emergency care. Often patient needs to wait for ambulances and/or is taken by public transport without receiving any paramedic care to a hospital, where proper emergency facilities and products like blood may not be available, causing serious delays in treatment and loss of life.

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