Intestinal helminth infections and schistosomiasis and their relation to HIV-1 incidence, disease progression and immunology in Mbeya Region, Tanzania

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We are proposing a prospective study into the epidemiology and immunology of helminth and HIV co-infection. The epidemiology component of the study will be conducted in an already established cohort of ~18,000 participants of all age groups in Southern Tanzania. Apart from generating highly relevant data about the influence of helminth infections on susceptibility to HIV infection and on disease progression, the study will also provide important insights into the regional epidemiology of a whole group of neglected infectious diseases of poverty.The immunology component (480 participants recruited from the above mentioned cohort) aims to compare the influence of different helminth infections on the immune system in general and on antigen-specific immune responses in particular in order to identify cellular parameters associated with HIV susceptibility and helminth induced immune-system modulation.Based at the excellent facilities of the Mbeya Medical Research Programme and implemented as a collaboration with Muhimbili University in Dar es Salaam and the University of Munich, the project will strengthen existing partnerships and will provide two Tanzanian researchers with scientific training and research experience and enable them to pursue academic degrees at Muhimbili University. Establishing helminthology as a research field in Mbeya will also lay the ground for further research capacity building and future studies in collaboration with our Tanzanian partners.