UB leads a project on childhood tuberculosis in Haiti in collaboration with companies, health organizations and NGOs
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tuberculosis is one of todayʼs most important infectious diseases; it has the second-highest death rate in the world. It is estimated that a third part of worldʼs population is infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis; around nine million people get the disease, between 5 and 20 % of them are children. Despite the seriousness of this problem, resources allocated to tuberculosis research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment are insufficient.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tuberculosis is one of todayʼs most important infectious diseases; it has the second-highest death rate in the world. It is estimated that a third part of worldʼs population is infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis; around nine million people get the disease, between 5 and 20 % of them are children. Despite the seriousness of this problem, resources allocated to tuberculosis research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment are insufficient.
In view of this situation, Carlos Ascaso, researcher in the Department of Public Health of the University of Barcleona (UB), has set up a research project on childhood tuberculosis in collaboration with companies, health organizations and NGOs in Haiti, the western hemisphere country most affected by the disease. The project, which will be developed during the next twelve months, takes place at Saint Damien Pediatric Hospital, the main hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haitiʼs capital city, and it is managed by the Foundation Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH).
Eight institutions join effort to get a common goal that will benefit a particularly vulnerable collective, children. The institutions are: the Foundation NPH and the Association for the Control of Tuberculosis in the Third World (ACTMON), as NGOs with previous experience in developing field projects; the UB, the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol and the University Hospital Mútua de Terrassa, as research groups that will analyse data; the Roviralta Foundation and Isolana Private Foundation, as the private agents that have provided economic funds needed to set up the study, and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation , as the organization in charge of managing the grant.
“The research aims at proving to what extent to have a parasitic infection or vitamin D deficiency can favour tuberculosis infection or, at least, can increase the probability to get the disease”, explains Ascaso, who also ensures that “the definition of biological markers that improve tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment response will have a profound impact on dealing with tuberculosis in children”.
Xavier Adsarà, director of the Foundation NPH Spain, points out that “children living in low-income countries, like Haiti, are prone to get infected by M. Tuberculosis, to have vitamin D deficiency and intestinal parasites; these factors favour the development of a disease which can be cured, but we lack good diagnosis and effective treatments”. Adsarà concludes: “We are proud to get involved in an initiative that aims to give a joint response to such a severe problem, but we are even more proud to know that participating institutions trust our organization to develop the research study”.