Challenges during the realization of an international research project on leishmaniasis in Colombia

Raluca Suschinel; Aylen Lisset Jaimes-Mogollón; Reinaldo Gutiérrez-Marín; Luís Carlos Peña-Cortés; Jesús Alberto Mendoza-Ibarra; José Flórez-Gélvez; Cătălin Dumbravă; Marius Uzunof; Violeta Elena Simion; Radu Ionescu

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1143939

Challenges during the realization of an international research project on leishmaniasis in Colombia

Front Public Health. 2023 Apr 4:11:1143939. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1143939. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
² GISM Group, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Pamplona, Ciudad Universitaria, Pamplona, Colombia.
³ GIEPATI Group, Faculty of Health, University of Pamplona, Ciudad Universitaria, Pamplona, Colombia.
⁴ GICA Group, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Pamplona, Ciudad Universitaria, Pamplona, Colombia.
⁵ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Spiru Haret University, Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease that belongs to the top 10 neglected tropical diseases. It mainly affects the poor population from tropical and subtropical areas of the World, which lacks sufficient resources and means to fight against this disease. With this in mind, the European Commission has funded an international collaborative research project in which are participating various institutions from South America, North Africa and Europe. The main objective of this project is the development of a fast, less expensive, non-invasive and easy to use alternative method for leishmaniasis diagnosis in dogs, one of the main reservoirs of leishmaniasis spread to humans. In this perspective article, we present our personal insight and opinion regarding the challenges of realizing a joint international research project on leishmaniasis in Colombia, a country where leishmaniasis is endemic, as well as regarding the involvement of the Public Health institutions and the local population from this country.

Keywords: Colombia; dogs; international cooperation; leishmaniasis; public health.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Colombia
Dogs
Europe
Humans
Leishmaniasis* / diagnosis
Leishmaniasis* / epidemiology
Leishmaniasis* / veterinary
South America

Grants and funding

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101007653.