Nipah Virus: Date palm sap consumption in West Bengal
Nipah Virus: Date palm sap consumption in West Bengal
Objectives
In districts of West Bengal, India, we plan to:
1. Estimate the frequency of date palm sap consumption among rural residents.
2. Estimate the number of date palm sap trees and Pteropus medius bat roosts near rural residents.
3. Estimate the number of human cases of Nipah infection that are occurring, based on the above exposure to risk factors.
Rationale
Why we care about this
Estimating frequency of Nipah virus infection risk factors in West Bengal will assist both India and bordering Bangladesh in creating and maintaining Nipah virus infection control strategies.
Why we see the knowledge we are generating as strategic
By focusing on districts in West Bengal that border Bangladesh, we estimate risk factors for Nipah virus infection in geographies that have ecological and cultural similarities to Bangladesh, where frequent outbreaks of human Nipah virus infection occur.
What stage on the Stairway of Research contribution to problem solving
2 - Explicate the causal paths that generate the problem
Project dates
2017 to current
Stage of work
What has been accomplished so far within the project
We have met with project partners from the National Institute of Epidemiology and West Bengal Health Service to discuss the project motivation and research plan.
A household questionnaire has been developed and, after securing Stanford IRB approval (protocol: 44930), was piloted with five households in Nadia district of West Bengal.
What we are focusing on now
We are developing a manual for date palm tree and bat roost count data collection to be translated into Bengali for field data collectors.
Project currently on hold due to COVID-19.
People
Primary Contact: Carolyn Oliver
Stanford University
. Stephen Luby, PI
. Carolyn Oliver, Co-Investigator, MS, Epidemiology & Clinical Research, Stanford University, 2018
National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), India
. Manoj Murhekar, Co-Investigator
. Manickam Ponnaiah, Co-Investigator
. Atasi Mondal, Fieldwork Coordinator
Funding
Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: Large Research Grant, Small Research Grant