Infectious Disease Control
Our ambition is to do research that has a tangible influence on infectious disease control policy and practice. Main research activities concern the understanding and prediction of the spread and control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including leprosy, visceral leishmaniasis, and parasitic worm infections. Tuberculosis, HIV/Aids, and other sexually transmitted infections are also important topics of research. We further study antimicrobial resistance in the general population of European countries, and some infectious diseases common among the diverse population of Rotterdam. Our COVID-19 research is focused on the geographical aspects of its spread and control. Our research methodologies include mathematical modelling, particularly individual-based simulation, as well as epidemiological data analysis and behavioral studies. Most NTD research is part of or linked to the NTD Modelling Consortium, a collaboration of various international modelling teams, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Highlights
Adapted WHO guidelines for neglected tropical diseases
After decades of large-scale control efforts against various neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in developing countries, the question has arisen how achievements thus far can be best sustained. In a special collection in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the NTD Modelling Consortium addressed in various studies how we can best monitor threats to sustainable control. Our research team, for example, proposed a novel cost-efficient fecal sampling strategy to better detect potential drug resistance in soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis than the strategy currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This novel sample strategy is now being considered to be included in adapted WHO guidelines. For visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) in the Indian sub-continent, we evaluated how serosurveys can help early detection of transmission after scaling down control efforts.
Mathematical model for mass drug administration
River blindness (onchocerciasis) is caused by a parasitic worm and transmitted by blackflies. It used to be highly prevalent in Africa but is now targeted for elimination through mass drug administration (MDA). We illustrated with mathematical modelling how the probability of elimination depends on connectedness between adjacent villages, by either human mobility or migrating flies. We showed that treating low-endemic villages may not be strictly necessary in areas where infection prevalence is maintained by importation from surrounding villages, but it may substantially shorten the overall duration and thus cost of MDA. This study inspired us to write a research proposal in collaboration with NMIMR (Accra, Ghana) to quantify connectedness in real-life situations, so that our theoretical work can be translated into more specific treatment recommendations. The proposal received a competitive Falcon Award (Global Institute for Disease Elimination) and the field studies have started in 2022.
