Written by Michael Poirier, BS candidate in public health and BA candidate in psychology, Saint Louis University; and the Gold Family Scholar in the 2024 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program
Several factors contribute to perceived risk for a disease: geographic location, engaging in positive health behaviors, and issues of higher importance. Despite neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) being highly endemic in many countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, local communities might perceive themselves as having minimal or zero risk of infection. What if I told you that local crayfish could change that perception?
As a student in the Summer Research Program, Public and Global Health Track, I have had the opportunity to work with the Death to Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis (DOLF) project under the mentorship of Peter U. Fischer, PhD. Through this program, I have had the opportunity to investigate the impact of environmental variables on the prevalence of Onchocerciasis (also called River Blindness) and Lymphatic Filariasis in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.
I have had the opportunity to explore different aspects of public and global health. First, I have developed my health communication skills by creating an educational video about a clinical trial for a new Onchocerciasis combination treatment in Bong, Liberia. I better understand the importance of educating and sharing public health work with the general population. Secondly, through a systematic review of previously published research and analysis of clinical trial data, the importance of the social determinants of health in understanding who is most at risk of disease has increased significantly.
You might ask, “What does this have to do with me?” Well, have you ever eaten crayfish? I had the opportunity to participate in fieldwork at the Huzzah River in Missouri as a part of a research project to develop a diagnostic test for Paragonimiasis. Lung flukes are food-borne worms and the cause of an NTD. While human infections are rare in the United States, the parasites are abundant in animals that feed on crawfish and possess parasites. If eaten raw or cooked improperly, humans have the potential to develop paragonimiasis. Blair (2022) estimated that roughly 30 million people are infected, mostly in Asia, but also in Africa and the Americas. In the United States, most clinical cases are in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest due to the need for larval parasites to develop in snails and later in crayfish before infecting humans. This shows that while deemed neglected and tropical, NTDs can threaten also local communities.
My research with DOLF and the opportunity to engage with field professionals, researchers, and peers has taught me a crucial lesson: sometimes we must gain a more global perspective to best understand the issues in our communities. This lesson calls on public health professionals and the global community to work together and make strides at improving health globally.
I would like to thank the Gold Family for sponsoring my research, Peter Fischer, PhD, Lexi Dyer, MPH, Gary Weil, MD, and the Institute for Public Health for this incredible experience.