Professor Nicole Pamme
Pathogen point-of-care diagnostics
People Involved
Dr Alex Iles
Project Description
Rates of maternal sepsis, still births, premature delivery, new-‐born sepsis and new-‐born deaths are high in Kenya. A strong contributing factor is maternal infection with pathogens such as Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, Bacteroides spp., Gardnerella vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, syphilis, listeria and group B hemolytic streptococci.
Fast and accurate diagnosis is required to enable the best possible treatment. Current methods however, rely on time-‐consuming cell cultures from urine samples and/or expensive microscopy setups that require electricity and may not be accessible to more remote and less well equipped clinics. Combining expertise from Prof. Pamme (Hull) in lab-on-a-chip based diagnostics and Dr Jesse Gitaka (Mount Kenya) in infectious diseases we will develop a simple, point-of-care lab-on‐a‐chip device for analysis of pathogens in urine to investigate in particular maternal infections to enable prompt treatment and improving outcomes. Ideally such devices should be low cost, easy to use and to dispose of and to be used as standalone (instrument free). A suitable test would be able to take a few mL of urine, blood, or vaginal swab sample, capturing pathogens and delivering an easily readable and interpreted result on which an end user can react.
The proposed collaboration will initially focus on pathogen analysis in urine for expectant mothers in Bungoma, Kenya, which is one of the counties with the worst indicators of maternal and newborn health (morbidity and mortality). The development of such a diagnostic device will have far reaching positive health impact in poor resource areas, and can significantly reduce the burden of disease and associated cost in these countries. The healthcare system will befit through better use of resources including personnel, medicines and lowering hospital stay due to prompt treatment.
| Status | Project Complete |
|---|---|
| Value | £49,781.00 |
| Project Dates | Jan 1, 2018 - Feb 28, 2019 |
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