Testing soil to spot community intestinal worm infections
Soil epidemiology: a new tool for environmental surveillance of soil-transmitted helminth infections in endemic settings.
This project tests whether checking dirt from places people use regularly can find intestinal worm eggs so deworming programs can target treatment more effectively.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Berkeley NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Berkeley, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11372641 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
I am a community member living in places where intestinal worms are common in Benin and India. Researchers will collect soil from high-activity spots like home entrances, water points, and schools and run sensitive lab tests (qPCR) to look for worm eggs. They will compare those soil results with stool test results collected during a large community deworming trial to see if soil testing shows ongoing transmission. If soil sampling works, it could offer a less invasive and lower-cost way to monitor whether communities still need mass treatment.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people living in STH-endemic communities—especially children and households in the DeWorm3 trial areas in Benin and India—who may be asked to provide stool samples or live near sites where soil is collected.
Not a fit: People who live outside STH-endemic areas or are not part of the trial communities would be unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make it easier to detect ongoing worm transmission so communities get treated sooner and reinfections fall.
How similar studies have performed: Previous trials and modeling indicate community-wide deworming can interrupt transmission, while environmental soil surveillance is an emerging approach with only limited prior validation.
Where this research is happening
Berkeley, United States
- University of California Berkeley — Berkeley, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pickering, Amy J. — University of California Berkeley
- Study coordinator: Pickering, Amy J.
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 below.