DeWorm3

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are parasitic worms associated with numerous health problems, including chronic malnutrition. The WHO estimates that one-quarter of the world’s population is currently infected.

DeWorm3 is a five-year surveillance study, examining the effectiveness of a mass-drug administration (MDA) protocol to interrupt STH transmission among affected populations in India, Benin, and Malawi.

Quantigen and its DeWorm3 collaborators have validated a DNA isolation procedure and a high-throughput, lyophilized, multiplex qPCR-based assay specific to four STH species. We have also created a comprehensive set of standard operating procedures and a rigorous proficiency testing program, which together are helping Quantigen to deploy our test into international partner laboratories.

Future plans at Quantigen: Over the study’s duration, our lab will test approximately 200,000 pre- and post-treatment stool samples for STH infection; in this way, study monitors can ensure that incidence levels following multiple rounds of MDA fall below the threshold (approx. 2%) at which future lateral transmission should be seen.

In addition, we will perform a clinical study to validate the STH test as a patient diagnostic – one with much higher sensitivity than the current, microscopy-based standard of care.

Key collaborators:

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (primary sponsor)
• University of Washington
• PATH (Seattle, WA)
• Smith College (Dr. Steve Williams’ Lab)
• Thermo Fisher Scientific
• Argonaut Manufacturing Services