Improving recommendations for schistosomiasis control interventions using interdisciplinary techniques

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that causes significant morbidity in infected populations of endemic regions. The cornerstone of control efforts is mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns using praziquantel, which are being executed with varying degrees of success. Many individual-related factors are associated with the suboptimal efficacy of praziquantel, leading to MDAs treatment failures, but these causal relationships have not been confirmed. Additionally, MDA compliance is negatively affected by praziquantel’s side-effects, and although there is evidence to suggest that the concomitant administration of praziquantel with food increases the drugs’ bioavailability and decreases its side-effects, this evidence has not been formally evaluated. MDAs are augmented by water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) based interventions to decrease disease transmission and reduce re-infection. To succeed, communities of affected areas must be willing to uptake these interventions; nonetheless, it is unknown which specific WASH interventions targeted populations prefer. I will quantify potential causes of poor praziquantel efficacy, evaluate evidence of food’s impact on praziquantel’s pharmacokinetics, side-effects, and efficacy, and examine which WASH interventions are more popular and therefore more likely to be used by targeted populations. Overall, my project will improve knowledge to enhance schistosomiasis intervention methods in endemic areas to help accelerate elimination efforts.