Objective TB is transmitted via person-to-person aerosols. Recent studies suggests that in TB endemic areas up to 70% of transmission events take place outside the household in public places. Moreover, TB transmission is unequally spatially distributed and occurs in transmission hotspot areas. Mathematical models consequently demonstrated that identifying hotspots and blocking within-hotspot-transmission through targeted public health interventions will be the most efficient way of lowering the TB burden. In the present PoC proposal we aim to complement the population-based Enhanced-Case-Finding intervention tested in the INTERRUPTB study, with a spatially more targeted “Enhanced-Place-Finding” (EPF) approach to identify transmission hotspots in an unbiased fashion. Using traditional methods to find transmission hotspots can only be done retrospectively after years of data collection. Therefore we propose a novel EPF strategy to detect transmission hotspots in real-time using phone-tracking technology to establish a spatial map of aggregated TB patients movements. Within the ERC-funded INTERRUPTB study in The Gambia, we sequenced 2000 mycobacterial isolates, which allows us to establish a bacterial genetic transmission network. Within the PoC proposal, we seek to reconsent these patients to analyze their everyday movements using classical contact investigation complemented by phone tracking, to determine which public places have an increased risk of TB transmission. We aim to demonstrate that phone tracking of TB patients can be a cheap, easy, and, most importantly, prospective TB transmission hotspots identification tool, no longer requiring molecular epidemiological investigations. Such a finding can ultimately be developed into an app that warns national TB programs of early TB outbreaks, so that early public health measures like increased ventilation and active case finding can be initiated. This approach can furthermore be applied to other infectious diseases. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthmedical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesmedical and health sciencesclinical medicinepneumologytuberculosis Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-PoC-2016 - ERC-Proof of Concept-2016 Call for proposal ERC-2016-PoC See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant Coordinator INSTITUUT VOOR TROPISCHE GENEESKUNDE Net EU contribution € 69 521,75 Address Nationalestraat 155 2000 Antwerpen Belgium See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Antwerpen Arr. Antwerpen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (5) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all INSTITUUT VOOR TROPISCHE GENEESKUNDE Belgium Net EU contribution € 69 521,75 Address Nationalestraat 155 2000 Antwerpen See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Antwerpen Arr. Antwerpen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 1,25 Address Polaris house north star avenue SN2 1FL Swindon See on map Region South West (England) Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area Swindon Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN Belgium Net EU contribution € 2 321,25 Address Place de l universite 1 1348 Louvain la neuve See on map Region Région wallonne Prov. Brabant Wallon Arr. Nivelles Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 DALBERG DATA INSIGHTS Belgium Net EU contribution € 46 277,50 Address Place du champ de mars 5 1050 Bruxelles See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE ROYAL CHARTER United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 31 661,25 Address Keppel street WC1E 7HT London See on map Region London Inner London — West Camden and City of London Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
