The DOLF project studies approaches for therapy and treatment of several parasitic diseases within a larger group of thirteen diseases known as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). This diverse group of communicable (i.e. infectious) diseases was first characterized in 2005, and collectively these diseases contribute to roughly the equivalent burden of diseases as the “big three diseases., ” malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. The thirteen NTDs are the most common infections of people in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, and disproportionately affect the “bottom billion,” the 1.4 people who lived on less than US $ 1.25 per day.
The DOLF Project focuses on the parasitic infections causes by helminths, parasitic worms that include nematodes, flukes and tapeworms. The helminths of interest to the DOLF Project are onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness), lymphatic filariasis, loaisis, and soil transmitted helminths (including ascaris, hookworm, and trichuris). The studies within the DOLF Project are conducted in areas where these dieases occur together (i.e., coendemic regions), and areas where there is just one of these. Each of these NTDs has unique infection parameters including clinical symptoms and associated morbidity and mortality, and transmission mechanisms with associated vectors, as well as the unique approaches for treatment, management and surveillance that are required for control and elimination. Learn more about each by clicking the link below: