Parasitic Disease Wastewater Surveillance to Inform Public Health Action in Remote Northern Queensland

Principal Investigator

Intestinal parasites are chronic preventable infectious disease of poverty which disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in northern Australia. Public Health Surveillance for these diseases is time consuming costly, difficult and intrusive, requiring faecal and blood testing of community members. This project will 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 north Queensland. The use of wastewater sampling will augment the capacity for public health surveillance by facilitating time and cost-efficient parasitic disease surveillance simultaneously in multiple communities.

15 Nov 2024 - 30 Nov 2027

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