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

我们建议对蠕虫和艾滋病毒混合感染的流行病学和免疫学进行前瞻性研究。这项研究的流行病学部分将在坦桑尼亚南部所有年龄段的约18,000名参与者中已经确定的队列中进行。除了产生关于蠕虫感染对艾滋病毒感染易感性和疾病进展的高度相关的数据外，这项研究还将对一整组被忽视的贫困传染病的区域流行病学提供重要的见解。免疫学部分(从上述队列招募的480名参与者)旨在比较不同蠕虫感染对免疫系统的总体影响，特别是对抗原特异性免疫反应的影响，以确定与艾滋病毒易感性和蠕虫诱导的免疫系统调节相关的细胞参数。基于姆贝亚医学研究计划的优秀设施，并与达累斯萨拉姆的穆希比利大学和慕尼黑大学合作实施，该项目将加强现有的伙伴关系，并将为两名坦桑尼亚研究人员提供科学培训和研究经验，使他们能够在穆亨比利大学攻读学位。将蠕虫学作为姆贝亚的一个研究领域，也将为进一步的研究、能力建设和今后与我们的坦桑尼亚伙伴合作进行研究奠定基础。

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.