Zoonotic uropathogenic escherichia coli in northwest ecuador: incidence and risk factors

Active Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
R01AI167989
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$4,343,829

Award facts

Assistance listing
93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research
Completion date 87% complete
Place of performance
Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

Abstract
Uropathogenic escherichia coli (UPEC) strains cause most urinary tract infections (UTIS) globally, resulting in enormous health and social costs. In the past decade, research has shown that UPEC strains are not just transmitted person-to-person; environmental sources, such as food-animal products, also contribute to transmission. Applying comparative genomics, we have identified host-associated mobile genetic elements (MGES) that can be used to identify the vertebrate host from which a strain originates. Applying these methods in the united states, we have found that approximately 8% of human UTIS can be linked directly to UPEC from meat and poultry products. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICS), the intensity of human-animal interactions is greater suggesting a different ecology for UPEC transmission. A literature review by our team demonstrates that UPEC transmission is poorly understood in LMICS. In this study, we will integrate comparative genomics, exposure assessment and spatiotemporal analyses to determine the drivers of UPEC epidemiology in poor, marginalized communities of an lmic. We will leverage over 20 years of experience working in northwestern coastal ecuador, a region that has been historically neglected in the context of health infrastructure and where communities live in proximity with livestock, poultry, and pets. We have developed a research platform studying diarrheal and vectorborne diseases, and have fully developed survey instruments to capture demographic, socioeconomic, and water, sanitation and hygiene data, and fully developed assays to process blood and stool samples. Our goals for this project are to identify the dominant zoonotic sources of UPEC, quantify the transmission to humans and characterize the behaviors and environmental conditions associated with risk for colonization and infection. We will carry out active surveillance at regional hospitals over a 30-month period and follow 420 households prospectively over a 4- year period. We hypothesize that domestic animal species will be important sources of UPEC within lmic settings like our study site and will be major drivers for UPEC colonization. The study will characterize the role that domestic animals play in the transmission of UPEC in an lmic setting, where environmental transmission pathways are likely much more important compared to high-income settings. By identifying specific reservoirs of UPEC and high-risk exposures, we will define optimal mitigation strategies to decrease disease burden in resource poor settings. Understanding how host-specific genetic markers vary in an lmic is important for developing targets of diagnostics and therapeutic interventions.

Transactions

Action Obligated Date
Amendment $161,873
Amendment $539,074
Amendment $158,314
Amendment $547,157
Amendment $709,620
Amendment $712,857
Amendment $757,467
Original award $757,467

Subawards

Subrecipient Amount Awarded
Universidad San Francisco De Quito Usfq Dr Gabriel Trueba will oversee all aspects of the field work in Ecuador, including managing the field team, setting up a working laboratory in Borbon and Quito,… $320,187
Universidad San Francisco De Quito Usfq $317,244
The Regents Of The University Of California Tasks to be completed by UC Berkeley 1. Develop and monitor field and laboratory protocols in Ecuador 2. Manage bi-weekly communication with the field staff and… $675,655
George Washington University (The) Dr. Price’s team at George Washington University will perform low-pass genome sequencing on 3,840 E. coli isolates and close the genomes of 160 E. coli… $1,081,885

Quick answers

Who received award R01AI167989?

R01AI167989 was awarded to Regents Of The University Of Michigan by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (National Institutes of Health) on July 6, 2022.

How much is award R01AI167989 worth?

$4,343,829 has been obligated on R01AI167989.

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