Objective
* To assess and analyse the effect of different levels of transmission on the age profiles of infection, disease and host immune response in bancroftian filariasis, and to analyse the interrelationship between these.
* To assess and analyse the heterogeneity of infection, disease and host response patterns within endemic communities, especially the relationships between infection status of children and that of their parents and the effect of exposure at household level on between-host variability in infection and disease levels.
* To assess and analyse the effect of control measures on transmission, infection, disease and host immune responses in communities with different levels of endemicity, and to analyse the cost-effectiveness of these measures.
Expected Outcome
The project will address some important unanswered questions related to bancroftian filariasis epidemiology and control, in particular the following:
* What is the role of transmission intensity in shaping the age profile patterns of infection, disease and host immune responses seen in endemic areas, and what roles do transmission intensity and various host immune responses play in resistance mechanisms and pathological processes?
* What is the role of individual exposure intensity in determining the heterogeneity of infection, disease and host response patterns seen within the endemic communities? And what role do parents infection status play for the infection status and immune responses seen in their children?
* What effect do parasite intervention measures have on transmission, infection, disease and host immune responses in communities with different levels of endemicity, and especially at what level of microfilaraemia in the human population will transmission cease? And how will cost-effectiveness of intervention measures differ in communities with high and low endemicity?
The field part of the project will be carried out in Tanga Region of Tanzania and in Kwale District of Kenya, where the partner members have intensive experience from studies on the epidemiology, transmission, chemotherapy and immunology of bancroftian filariasis. Basically, the project will comprise of a series of cross sectional parasitological, clinical and immunological investigations accompanied by intensive longitudinal entomological and clinical surveillance at village and household level in selected high and low prevalence communities. Mass chemotherapy with DEC will be introduced after the first baseline year, while the same type of investigations continue.
Data from individually designed sub-studies will first be analysed and documented separately. However, the design of the project provides a unique opportunity for evaluating the forms of the functional relationships occurring between exposure, infection and disease dynamics, and host immune responses, both at community and individual level. These relationships will be studied via a combination of mathematical models and more advanced statistically-based analyses.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
2920 CHARLOTTENLUND
Denmark