Infectious Disease

Of all WHO regions, the Americas have the second lowest rate of successfully treated TB cases and the largest percentage of failed treatment cases. Peru in particular has the highest percentage of previously treated TB cases with MDR-TB (multi-drug resistant tuberculosis), often caused by patients not adhering to the treatment. This innovation aims to rectify this with a cost-effective and community-centred approach, using eCompliance, a portable biometric patient identification system originally developed by the NGO OperationASHA.

There are a few reasons why the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) can fail. One of them is the lack of adherence to the DOTS strategy (directly observed treatment, short-course, recommended by the World Health Organization). The absence of fast recovery and adverse effects are commonly associated to treatment drop-out. As a result, Multi-Drug Resistant TB is emerging. Pyrazinamide (PZA), the only drug effective against latent TB, produces serious hepatic side effects.

Pneumonia remains the world’s leading cause of death among children under five. Pneumonia is usually diagnosed based on x-ray images and lab or clinical examination, but trained personnel and resources are scarce in rural communities in Peru. Innovators have developed a highly sensitive and specific algorithm of pattern recognition that will be printed on a circuit board. This hardware box will be linked to an inexpensive and portable ultrasound echograph, and to a smartphone with dedicated software. Digital images will be transmitted from the echograph to the box and smartphone.

In the inter-Andean valleys of Peru, there is a neglected illness called Carrion's disease, affecting populations that live in conditions of extreme poverty and with deficient sanitation. Carrion's disease is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites and poses one of the greatest health problems in affected regions of Peru. The illness has two clinical forms: (1) an acute (hematic) phase, known as 'Oroya fever', reporting a mortality of up to 88% in untreated individuals, and (2) a later, eruptive phase, in which the patient develops nodular dermal eruptions known as 'Verruga Peruana'.

HIV continues to be a major global public health issue. In 2012, more than 10 million people in low-income countries living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. In resource-low countries, despite the access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), opportunistic infections are the most common ways to detect HIV. However, many of the neurological infections are difficult to diagnose because they require specific laboratory tests.

Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children worldwide. Treating water before it is consumed can reduce the diarrhea risk by 42%. In low-resource settings, boiling water is often the only method used, because many other effective household water treatment methods remain unfeasible due to cost, lack of availability and cultural barriers. This bold idea will test a low-cost and reusable water pasteurization indicator in the Peruvian Amazon, a region where childhood diarrhea is rampant and people rely on surface water for drinking.

Brain infections, like malaria, can impair brain function such as memory, thinking, reasoning and speech. Young children who survived severe malaria, some of whom obtained rapid treatment with a new, effective drug, will be traced and assessed for brain function. Proof that treatment reduces disability, will expedite policy changes to prevent malaria and increase treatment access.

Development, Laboratory Testing and Field Validation of a Rapid Diagnostic Test for Ebola Virus Disease