ZooTRIP. Zoonotic transmission of intestinal parasites: implications for control and elimination

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Gut parasites, in particular parasitic worms, are extremely widespread in rural and poor urban areas of low and middle-income countries. Gut worms have chronic and often insidious effects on human health and child development including abdominal problems, anaemia, stunting and wasting. The spread of many gut worms involves a faecal-oral route: worm eggs are shed into the environment by human or animal defecation and individuals become infected through ingestion of these eggs, for example when children play in contaminated dirt. In other instances, infection occurs through ingestion of meat from infected animals. However, there is a poor understanding of the overall role played by animals in the spread of gut worms to humans. This information is very important in order to design effective and sustainable strategies for control of gut worms and ultimately to stop them infecting humans.This project will take place in the Philippines where gut worm infections are widespread, particularly in rural communities. Backyard farming is extremely common, bringing people in close proximity to their livestock. In addition, the country has one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the world and there are many stray dogs and cats. Thus, there is likely significant transmission of gut worms from animals to people. The project will bring together a team of internationally respected researchers, with expertise in different disciplines, to assess the contribution of animals and environmental contamination to human gut worm infection in the Philippines. As a first step, a field study will be carried out in two distinct areas on the island of Mindanao to investigate gut worms circulating in humans, animals and the environment. For some gut worms it is difficult to determine whether they originated in animals or humans. Therefore DNA sequencing of gut worms collected in the Philippines will be carried out to identify genetic markers which can be used to distinguish between worms of human and animal origin and to detect their resistance to deworming drugs. This will allow genetic characterisation of gut worm samples collected during the field study. Mathematical models incorporating information from the field study and genetic data from the worm samples will then be developed to quantify the contribution of animals and environmental contamination to spread of gut worms to humans and predict the effects of different control strategies. Finally, an evaluation of the socio-economic and health impacts of gut worm infections in the Philippines will be conducted together with development of a set of recommendations for policy makers.By embracing a One Health approach this project will shed new light on the epidemiology of gut worms in humans and animals in the Philippines and quantify the contribution of animals to human infection. Project findings will enable development of novel control strategies, leading to increased effectiveness and sustainability of gut worm control in the Philippines and worldwide, and ultimately to improvements in health in endemic areas. The assessment of socio-economic impacts of intestinal helminths in humans and animals will provide crucial evidence for policy-makers and funders.