1.OMNIVEC-India: Designing and implementing a digital OMNI-channel Community Engagement and Risk Communication intervention for prevention and control of Vector-borne Diseases across India
Project Background:
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) comprising diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, leishmaniasis, typhus and lymphatic filariasis, affect nearly half the global population. VBDs account for >17% of all infectious diseases, >700,000 deaths annually (WHO fact-sheet) and 82,000 to 46 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs), based on the disease, annually. These diseases are known to disproportionately affect underprivileged populations. VBDs can be considered an eco-bio-social phenomenon. The environment including climate are ecological factors. The vector, the organism and transmission dynamics are biological factors. The human host, including-knowledge attitudes-practices, poverty, demographics and health system are considered social factors. Risk communication is the real time exchange of information, advice and opinions between experts or officials and people who face a threat to their survival, health or economic or social well-being. Risk communication ensures that everyone, at risk of acquiring the disease, is adequately empowered to ensure that they do not get the disease and know how to prevent its spread. Combined with community engagement, the two strategies empower people to prevent disease and mitigate its risk.
Aim: To co-develop a Community Engagement Risk Communication strategy through a ground-up approach that can be digitally delivered by the health system to the community for control and elimination of VBDs particularly dengue/malaria and lymphatic filariasis.
PI: Dr Melari Shisha Nongrum, Associate Professor, IIPH Shillong
Co-PI: Dr Rajiv Sarkar, Associate Professor, IIPH Shillong
Co-PI: Dr Tiameren Jamir, Deputy director of the Regional Resource Hub, Health Technology Assessment in India (RRH-HTAIn) at IIPH Shillong
Funding Agencies: Indian Council for Medical Research, New Delhi
Year: 2023 onwards
2. Zoonotic Vector Borne Diseases Research and Training Centre – In collaboration with Indian Council for Agricultural Research
Project Background:
India, and especially the north-eastern region, is endemic for vector-borne diseases. Recently, due to its changing economy and ecology, India has emerged as a hotspot for zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic and vector-borne diseases (ZVBDs), represent an increasing health threat in the NER, with considerable epidemic potential. Many ZVBDs are associated with poor farming practices and inadequate hygiene, along with insufficient diagnostic facilities and sub-optimum reporting systems. Human behavioral changes, driven by increasing population density, economic and technological development, and the associated spatial expansion of agriculture, are creating novel and more intensive interactions between humans, livestock, and wildlife. In response to this need, a new research and training Centre is being established, by Indian Institute of Public Health-Shillong (IIPHS) in collaboration with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), NEH Research Complex. This trans-disciplinary Centre brings together public health researchers, sociologists, veterinarians, clinicians, and disease modelers to evaluate and counter the threat posed by ZVBDs and TADs in NE India; while strengthening public health research and training capacity in this region.
Project Objectives:
- Develop a regional research hub for collaborative, trans-disciplinary training and science.
- Characterize and evaluate transmission patterns and risks of ZVBDs of India’s NER.
- Identify and forecast cross-species transmission of ZVBDs and TAD threats.
PI: Dr Melari Shisha Nongrum, Associate Professor, IIPHS.
Co PI: Prof Sandra Albert, Director and Professor, IIPHS..
Dr Rajiv Sarkar, Associate Professor, IIPHS.
Dr Arnab Sen, Principal Scientist, Animal Health and Production ICAR Complex, NE Region, Umiam Meghalaya.
Funding agency: DBT- Wellcome Trust- India Alliance
Year: January 2022 – 2026
3. Changing the Landscape of Soil Transmitted Helminths in India using a One Health Approach
Project background:
Soil transmitted helminths (STH) – hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura – are among the most widespread neglected tropical diseases (NTD) of humans worldwide, disproportionately affecting the poorest and most vulnerable communities. In rural populations, intensive animal-human mixing with livestock and companion animals combined with poor hygiene and sanitation can lead to transmission of zoonotic infections and zoonotic sources of infection.
The overarching goal of this multi-disciplinary collaborative project is to use a One Health framework to examine the interconnected burden and transmission patterns between human, animal, and environmental reservoirs of STH by integrating carefully collected epidemiological, environmental, and qualitative research data with state-of-art molecular techniques to better inform monitoring and elimination strategies in endemic communities.
Project Objectives:
- To determine the burden and transmission patterns of zoonotic STH infections in endemic communities using a One Health framework and quantify the impact of cMDA.
- To develop and evaluate field-ready portable point-of-collection diagnostic tools for STH comparable to qPCR based on prevalent human and zoonotic species.
PI: Dr Sitara SR Ajjampur, Christian Medical College, Vellore.
Co PI: Dr Rajiv Sarkar, Associate Professor, IIPHS
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health, USA
Year: 2023