Parasitic Disease Wastewater Surveillance to Inform Public Health Action in Remote Northern Queensland
Role
Collaborator
Description
External advisor on community engagement and culturally safe protocols for a TAAHC funded research project. Intestinal parasites are chronic preventable infectious disease of poverty which disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in northern Australia. Surveillance for these diseases is time consuming costly, difficult and intrusive, requiring faecal and blood testing of community members. This project is a proof-of-concept study to validate and pilot the use of wastewater testing for the surveillance of important intestinal parasites, including strongyloidiasis, whipworm, giardiasis, and amoebic dysentery infecting people in northern Queensland. The use of wastewater sampling will augment the capacity for public health surveillance by facilitating timely and cost-efficient parasitic disease surveillance simultaneously in multiple communities.
Date
01 Jan 2025
Project Type
N/A
Keywords
N/A
Funding Body
Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre Limited
Amount
50000
Project Team
Richard Bradbury;Jenny Darr;David Sellars