Field Study/Trial

Nur Alam of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh will test whether adding L-isoleucine and Vitamin D to food served to hospitalized children will induce secretion of antimicrobial peptides that can aid recovery from acute diarrhea and pneumonia.

Stephen Davis of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia will collect footprints from infants at 0, 2 and 6 months of age to test whether the spatial patterns produced by ridge lines and creases stay unique and constant despite the physical growth of the footprint. These footprints could be captured using low-tech mobile phone cameras to provide a biometric identification system for use in immunization programs.

Mbutolwe Mwakitalu of the National Institute for Medical Research in the United Republic of Tanzania will expand treatment of parasitic worm infections to nomads in Tanzania by coupling the provision of anthelmintic drugs with drugs and vaccines for livestock, which are highly valued by this community. Mass drug administration campaigns have had limited success on nomadic communities because of their motility and relatively low interest in personal health compared to the health of their livestock.

Stephanie Richard of Health & Development International in the U.S. will run a campaign in Togo to identify and treat individuals with severe chronic morbidities caused by infectious diseases. Although several neglected tropical diseases such as lymphatic filariasis have been well controlled by mass drug administration efforts in Togo, they cause many lasting and severe secondary effects that require expensive treatments such as surgery, and are therefore not widely available.

Brian Foy of Colorado State University in the U.S. will test whether repeated administration of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin specifically during the short dry-to- rainy transition in Burkina Faso in combination with distribution of insecticide treated nets will better reduce the incidence of malaria, lymphatic filariasis and soil transmitted helminth infections. Incidence of these diseases remains high despite mass drug administration efforts.

Mary-Lynne Lasco of INMED Partnerships for Children in the U.S. will evaluate whether on-site sustainable food production and associated education in schools improves child health when combined with semi-annual deworming treatments and a new school feeding program in Peru. Many Peruvian children are malnourished, and soil-transmitted helminth infections are endemic and a significant cause of mortality.

Romeo Montoya of OPS/OMS Honduras in Honduras will test an integrated approach of deworming, education, vitamin A supplements, and improved water quality and sanitation to decrease the incidence and effects of intestinal parasites in school children in Honduras. Intestinal worms are highly prevalent in Honduras and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. By integrating several treatment strategies together with national vaccination campaigns they hope to broaden coverage to the entire population and reduce costs.

Prasenjit Mondal of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh will test whether supplying deworming medication to women of reproductive age reduces the incidence of helminth infections and associated anemia. Current mass drug administration efforts to eradicate parasitic infections are fairly successful but focus predominantly on school children. The incidence of infection in women of fertility age remains high, which affects both maternal and child health.

Susana Nery of the University of Queensland in Australia will test whether soil transmitted helminth infections in school children from developing countries can be better controlled by providing deworming and improved hygiene practices to an entire community as opposed to just the schools, which is the current WHO recommendation. They will conduct a pilot study in Timor-Leste by recruiting primary schools and providing the recommended anti-helminthic drug albendazole along with access to improved water and hygiene practices either within the schools or to the local community.

Zvi Bentwich of Ben Gurion University in Israel will support mass drug eradication efforts against parasitic worm infections in Ethiopia by implementing in parallel a health education campaign run by local students and the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities. They will test their approach on a region in Ethiopia containing 30 schools, which is connected to a wider population of 200,000.