The Vaccine Development Services program offers a collection of preclinical services to support the development of vaccines intended for use in the investigation, control, prevention, and treatment of a wide range of infectious agents (other than HIV).
This is one of several programs provided by NIAID's Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to support infectious disease product developers.
The Schistosomiasis Resource Center (SRC) provides three major strains of snails (Biomphalaria glabrata, Bulinus truncatus, and Oncomelania hupensis) and rodents infected with S. haematobium, S. japonicum, and S.mansoni. Molecular reagents include nucleic acids and genomic libraries from the various life cycle stages of the Schistosoma species (cercariae, schistosomula, adult worms and eggs).
The Early Phase Clinical Trial Units (EPCTUs) support the design, development, implementation, and conduct of Phase 0 to Phase 2 clinical trials, including proof-of-concept studies in healthy, special, and disease-specific populations, carried out in an expeditious and efficient manner, aided by bioanalysis when necessary, against viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal pathogens and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The candidate products assessed through the EPCTUs may include licensed or investigational products such as small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, i
Therapeutic Development Services - Interventional Agents program provides services to facilitate preclinical development of therapeutics and new in vivo diagnostics for infectious pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and toxins. Services will be conducted at the appropriate regulatory compliance level dependent on the stage of product development.
Note: Devices are excluded.
The In Vitro Assessment for Antimicrobial Activity program provides capability in a broad range of in vitro assessments to evaluate promising candidate countermeasures for antimicrobial activity against microbial pathogens and vectors, including those derived from clinical specimens.
This is one of several programs provided by NIAID's Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to support infectious disease product developers.
This contract program supports the development and refinement of animal models and animal replacement technologies and provides in vivo and complex human cell-based in vitro model preclinical testing services, ranging from screening and proof-of-concept to GLP efficacy studies.
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or snail fever, is an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes or blood flukes. Most human infections are caused by Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, or S. japonicum. The parasites spend part of their lifecycle in freshwater snails. The infectious, larval form emerges from the snail and contaminates water.
People who contact contaminated water during recreational, agricultural, or domestic activities become infected when the fork-shaped larval worms penetrate their skin, travel to blood vessels, and develop into adults. The release of eggs from female worms triggers symptoms in infected people, which can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and blood in the urine. In children, repeated infections may cause anemia and stunted growth. Chronic infections frequently result in serious damage to the liver, intestines, and bladder. Women who are exposed to infested water through such routine tasks as clothes washing can develop urogenital schistosomiasis, which may result in tissue damage that increases the risk of HIV transmission.
Although the parasites that cause human schistosomiasis are not found in the United States, at least 220 million people are infected worldwide, particularly in rural communities where people routinely collect water from lakes, rivers or small bodies of water for household or agricultural use. Among parasitic diseases, schistosomiasis is second only to malaria in terms of the high disease and economic burden it imposes
NIAID-supported investigators study many aspects of schistosomiasis to find new ways to prevent and treat the disease. Research is directed at the various life-stages of parasite itself as well as the freshwater snails that serve as an intermediate host.
Like other so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), schistosomiasis generally impacts the world’s poorest people. Learn about NIAID research efforts on other NTDs.
The NIAID-funded Schistosomiasis Research Center provides investigators with a number of resources to advance their studies, including egg and larval parasites, snails and molecular reagents and other tools needed to conduct research.
This video describes the resources available from the Schistosomiasis Research Center.
VIDEO: Scientists studying schistosomiasis rely on NIAID for an unusual research resource—snails.
To learn about risk factors for schistosomiasis and current prevention and treatment strategies visit the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) schistosomiasis site.
