Improved prevention and treatment of non-Typhoidal Salmonella disease in Africa trough understanding the role of human carriers

In children in sub-Saharan Africa, invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) disease takes more lives than malaria but its diagnosis is overlooked. The World Health Organization (WHO) listed Salmonella as a priority pathogen given its increasing antibiotic resistance and is studying NTS vaccine implementation. Although originally thought to be transmitted by animals, NTS might be transmitted by humans excreting NTS in their stools. The Schistosoma worm - infecting blood vessels in intestinal and urinary tract - is thougth to carry NTS in its wall, thereby causing prolonged NTS stool excretion, impairing NTS vaccine efficacy and promoting antibiotic resistance. The proposed project will study the antibiotic resistance profile and stool excretion of NTS (frequency, duration and association with Schistosoma intercalatum) in the Tshopo Province in DRC where both NTS and S. intercalatum are endemic. The obtained knowledge will generate locally adapted antibiotic treatment guidelines (UNIKIS medical curriculum) and feed near-future NTS vaccina implementation (WHO and international stakeholders).