UPD-CS embarks on joint int’l study to fight  snail-borne disease in PHL villages

UPD-CS Dean Dr. Giovanni Tapang (seated, second from left) is joined by (seated, L-R) UPD-CS IB Director Dr. Ian Kendrich Fontanilla, CWRC Deputy Chief Engineer Guiya Chen, CWRC-CRSI Vice President Shiming Yao, UPD-CS IB Assistant Professor Dr. Ian Kim Tabios, and UPD-CS IB Assistant Professor Dr. Lerrie Ann Ipulan-Colet (standing, rightmost) at a courtesy call by CWRC-CRSI researchers last June 26. (PHOTO CREDIT: Dr. Ian Kim Tabios)

The University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science’s Institute of Biology (UPD-CS IB) recently entered into an international research collaboration to fight a parasitic snail-borne tropical disease that affects millions of Filipinos across the country.

The UPD-CS IB has partnered with the Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute (CRSI) of China’s Changjiang Water Resources Commission (CWRC) on a joint project entitled, “Construction and Demonstration of Water Conservancy Combined with Schistosomiasis Control (WCCSC) in ASEAN Countries,” with support from the Asian Cooperation Fund.

Schistosomiasis is an often-neglected tropical disease that greatly impacts many agricultural villages in the Philippines, particularly poor and marginalized communities. In 2019 alone, it was reported that the disease affected some 12 million people across the country. The joint project aims to demonstrate the impact of water conservancy technology on the control of the snail vector of schistosomiasis in selected endemic villages in Leyte. The team will provide training to local health workers and engineers in the principles and applications of WCCSC. ### (PR)