World Health Day 2014: EU-funded research to fight vector-borne diseases Links
7 Apr 2014 12:46 PM
The European Union is an
important player in the fight against vector-borne diseases, the main theme of
this year's 'World Health Day' which will be celebrated on 7
April.
Vectors are small organisms such
as mosquitoes, bugs, ticks and freshwater snails that can transmit disease from
one person to another. More than half of the world's population is at risk
from these diseases! Yet, through simple preventive measures, such as
vaccination, we can protect ourselves and our families.
EU support for vector-borne
diseases research comes in number of ways. The funding of international
collaborative research projects through the FP7
(2007-13) and Horizon 2020
(2014-20) framework programmes is a key element, as shown in the
examples below. The European Research Council (ERC) is also financing a number of
projects related to vector-borne diseases. In addition, the 'European and Developing
Countries' Clinical Trials Partnership' (EDCTP) - a big player
in malaria research – will be extended later this year.
EU health research on dengue
– some examples
The world's fastest growing
vector-borne disease is dengue, a mosquito-transmitted disease with a 30-fold
increase in incidence over the last 50 years. 40 per cent of the world's
population is now at risk from dengue and WHO currently estimates there may be
50–100 million infections worldwide every year. According to a report by the European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control, 610 cases of dengue fever were notified by 14
of 23 reporting EU/EEA countries in 2011 - much lower than 2010 but comparable
to the number of 2009. A major dengue outbreak with more than 2000 reported
cases started in October 2012 in Madeira, fortunately without severe cases or
deaths.
By funding the following
international research projects the EU helps to better understand the
disease and the virus which causes it. This research is expected to result in
new tools to keep dengue disease under control but also in global maps to show,
and hence work against, the risk of dengue spreading to previously uninfected
areas.
DENFREE aims to identify the key factors determining dengue
transmission, infection outcome and epidemics, and to develop novel diagnostic
tools to detect asymptomatic infections. The project shed new light on
how subclinical infections - where the person does not feel the need to
consult a clinician – contribute to the spread of the disease.
It proposes a new slow-release system for insecticides which is simple to
use and provides total protection against bites for 3 weeks.
DengueTools concentrates on better dengue diagnosis,
surveillance, and the potential for dengue emergence in Europe in the context
of climate change. The study improves our understanding of the epidemic
potential of dengue, informs new models based on weather/climate data, and
helps factor climate changes into surveillance and control. The DengueTools
team is also developing novel tools for the surveillance of dengue and for the
control of dengue in children.
IDAMS is currently working on the validation of important
clinical signs and symptoms of dengue, and the evaluation of virological and
immunological markers. The research team has updated global risk maps and
burden estimates for dengue, and it has produced maps of the history of spread
of each of the four dengue viruses. Finally, a new technical handbook with
local dengue surveillance protocols for timely outbreak detection is currently
in the works.
Examples of EU-supported malaria
research
Malaria is the vector-borne
disease responsible for most deaths worldwide. It killed some 627,000 people in
2012, roughly one person every minute. There are more than 200 million new
cases every year, most of them in children and pregnant women in developing
countries.
The EU, through its Research
Framework Programme FP7 (2007-13), supported 67 international research projects
worth €142 million. They covered all areas from basic research, vaccines,
diagnostics and drugs to research on the mosquito vector as well as research
capacity building and training researchers (see alsoMEMO/13/374).
For instance, NANOMAL is developing a pioneering smartphone-like device
that uses cutting-edge nanotechnology to detect not only the malaria infection
but also any drug resistance from a pinprick of blood (IP/13/362).
Special emphasis is also given
to malaria transmission control. A complementary set of projects works on new
ways of preventing mosquito reproduction and the development of the malaria
parasite:
One example is MALVECBLOK which revealed the molecular events involved in
reproduction and immunity of mosquitoes and identified environmental factors
that may influence disease spread. Taken together, the project findings provide
new concepts for innovative vector measures to control malaria
transmission.
Another project, ANOPOPAGE investigated a malaria control strategy using
Wolbachia bacteria, paving theway for future investigations into malaria
epidemiology in Africa and into other Plasmodium-inhibiting bacteria that could
be introduced into Anopheles mosquitoes.
Completing these
efforts, AVECNET was a collaborative initiative between
African and European researchers that is developing and testing new methods for
malaria control, such as novel insecticide treated bed nets.
The AnoRep project seeks to better understand mosquito biology, and
reduce the incidence of malaria. Specifically, it is looking at how mosquitoes
reproduce. This is a question of fundamental biology, but it also has wide
implications for disease control. If we can understand more about
mosquitoes' fertility, we can intervene to reduce it. By developing ways to
curb mosquitoes' success in reproducing, ERC Starting Grant holder Prof.
Flaminia Catteruccia and her team hope to provide innovative contributions to
the fight against malaria.
Finally, the European
Union's 'European
and Developing Countries' Clinical Trials Partnership' (EDCTP) initiative has
so far invested €50 million for malaria research, including 32
clinical trials on improved treatments and new vaccine candidates. Many of
these trials help adapt existing malaria therapies and drugs to particularly
vulnerable groups. For example, the Severe Malaria in Children network
(SMAC) showed that three doses over two days of the drug artesunate are as
effective as five doses over three days. This alternative regimen would lower
the risk of incomplete treatment by the improved efficiency and reduce the cost
of administering the treatment. The European Parliament is due to vote April 15
on a proposal to extend EDCTP funding under Horizon 2020.
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