A research project at the University of Bergen will investigate how probiotics, improved hygiene education and advanced mathematical models can help prevent deaths from diarrhea among children in low- and middle-income countries. The EU has awarded the PRoRota project 5.3 million euros over four years.
The project is led by researcher Sabrina Moyo at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Group, Clinical Department 2. Together with her colleagues Nina Langeland and Bjørn Blomberg, she will investigate why the rotavirus vaccine has a lower effect in developing countries than in high-income countries. The hypothesis is that the intestinal flora in infants plays a central role.
Previous studies from Tanzania have shown high levels of resistant bacteria in children under three months of age. In a follow-up project, the researchers found that probiotics could reduce such bacteria and increase the proportion of "good" bacteria, albeit with a short-term effect. Now, PRoRota will test whether repeated doses of probiotics from birth can enhance the effectiveness of the rotavirus vaccine.
Around 4,000 newborns in Tanzania, Malawi and Ivory Coast will participate in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The children will receive either probiotics or a placebo for several periods in the first months, before the researchers measure the incidence of diarrhea, immune response and levels of multidrug-resistant bacteria.
The project also includes enhanced hygiene education for parents and caregivers, where researchers are investigating how WASH routines can be implemented more effectively, and developing a mathematical model that can predict rotavirus outbreaks based on climate and infection data from the three countries.
A separate work package will assess the cost-effectiveness of the measures. Researcher Amani Mori at the Department of Global Health and Community Medicine is leading this section and points out that the burden of disease is hitting both families and the health economy hard.
Moyo emphasizes that the goal is clear: to reduce the number of children who get sick and die from diarrhea. The EU support makes it possible to implement the project on a large scale.
The whole story can be found here: https://www.uib.no/med/181288/uib-prosjekt-mottar-over-fem-millioner-euro-%C3%A5-bekjempe-barned%C3%B8delighet