Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal parasitic infection that is emerging as a common cause of diarrheaworldwide. The potential for use of Cryptosporidium in bioterrorism is illustrated by the 1993 epidemic thatoccurred when the Milwaukee water supply became contaminated with the organism and over 400,000people became ill with diarrhea within a period of a few weeks. Associated with that outbreak were largenumbers of hospitalizations and deaths. Based on this potential to cause large-scale epidemics,Cryptosporidium has been classified as a Class B agent for biodefense. According to the World HealthOrganization, diarrheal diseases are the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwideamong children in developing countries and also an important cause of morbidity and mortality in adults,Parasites are more common agents of persistent and chronic diarrhea, which are increasingly recognized asmajor causes of chronic morbidity. Among the parasites Cryptosporidium, Giardia intestinalis, andEntamoeba histolytica are the most commonly associated with diarrhea. All of these organisms can presentwith a similar clinical picture, typically with watery diarrhea, yet they differ in terms of optimal diagnosticmethods and, more importantly, treatment. The long-range goal for the project is to develop a simple,inexpensive test that can detect all the major diarrhea-causing protozoan parasites that can be performed atthe point-of-care, even in developing countries.
The specific aims of this project are:
Specific aim 1 : Tooptimize an inexpensive, sensitive and specific diagnostic test that can be used for point-of-carediagnosis of Cryptosporidiosis.
Specific aim 2 : To develop detection methods for Giardia, E.histolytica, Cyc/ospora, and /sospora.
Specific aim 3 : To assess the sensitivity and specificity ofthese assays using stools samples obtained in prospective studies of diarrheal disease. Toaccomplish these goals, we have assembled an interdisciplinary team with proven expertise in point-of-caredetection of infectious disease. Dr White's laboratory at UTMB brings expertise in intestinal parasites, clinicalinfectious diseases and parasite molecular biology and has ongoing collaborations with field studies ofdiarrheal disease. Dr. Richards-Kortum's Laboratory, at the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University,has focused on applying microfabrication and nanotechnologies to global health problems and hasexperience in both micro-optical sensors and the use of targeted nanoparticles for molecular diagnostics.The long-range goal for the project will be to incorporate similar techniques to develop a simple, inexpensivetest that can detect all the major diarrhea-causing protozoan parasites that can be performed at the point-ofcare,even in developing countries.
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