Stopping intestinal worm infections in people and animals in rural India
Official title: Changing the Landscape of Soil Transmitted Helminth Infections in India Using a One Health Approach
Funded at Christian Medical College · NIH-11311356 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project works with families, their animals, and local environments in rural India to reduce intestinal worm infections that affect children and adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Christian Medical College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Vellore, India) |
| Project start | March 20, 2023 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $261,702 |
| NIH project number | 5U01AI168611-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11311356 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people (including children and adults) living in rural communities near Vellore, India, especially households that keep livestock or have frequent animal contact.
✕Less likely to help
People living outside the study villages or in urban areas without animal contact are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers may visit your household to ask questions about living conditions, hygiene, and contact with animals. You and your animals might be asked for stool samples and researchers may collect soil or water from around your home to look for worms and eggs. The team will combine those findings to map how worms move between people, animals, and the environment and to check whether current medicines are still working. Their findings will help design better ways to stop ongoing transmission in your community.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more effective ways to prevent and treat intestinal worms so fewer children and adults get sick and treatments remain effective longer.
How similar studies have gone: Mass drug campaigns have lowered worm burdens in many places but accounting for animal and environmental reservoirs is a newer, less-tested approach for lasting control.
Where this research is happening
-
Christian Medical College
Vellore, India Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ajjampur, Sitara Swarna Rao — Christian Medical College
- Study coordinator: Ajjampur, Sitara Swarna Rao
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.