Department of Eco-epidemiology
April 2008, the Research Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases was reorganized and transformed into four groups i.e. two departments in the Research Field of Environmental Medicine, Tropical Medicine Museum and the Kenya station of Overseas Research Stations. Therefore, Eco-epidemiology department inherited its philosophy of research from the Research Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, as one of the departments in the Research Field of Environmental Medicine. The mission is to contribute to the global control of the tropical infectious diseases by analyzing the complex factors that regulate the endemics and/or epidemics of the diseases to find appropriate control measure of the infection.
Members
- Professor Masaaki Shimada (Kenya Station)
- Professor Satoshi Kaneko
- Assistant Professor Yoshito Fujii
- Assistant Professor Kensuke Goto
- Research Fellow Chihiro Tanigawa
- Research Fellow Masashi Miura
- COE Technician Emi Nakayama
- Assistant Tamami Saeki
- Assistant Junichi Tanaka
- Graduate student Ohsuke Komazawa
- Graduate student Tomonori Hoshi
Activities
The concept of eco-epidemiology is based on the view of recognizing tropical diseases as a system of infection. The aim of our research is to understand the process of interaction between microorganisms, vectors and human beings in the system. Therefore, the staffs mainly work in the field at the Kenya Research station of Overseas Research Stations.
Human beings and vectors, so-called hosts as a niche of pathogens, exist not statically but dynamically in time and space. In addition, there is an infinite diversity in the characteristics of hosts. We study how microorganism survive, maintain, proliferate, diminish, disappear and emerge through the niches.
The ultimate purpose of the department is to form a theory for a better understanding of the interrelationship between hosts and pathogen and its consequences, diseases.
Ongoing activities are 1) the development and maintenance of Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in Mbita and Kwale, Kenya, 2) Development of a Concurrent Detection method for a wide range of Pathogens of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Africa, 3) A child health cohort study from the viewpoint of sociology, anthropology and epidemiology in a marginal area of Africa, 4)Research on polyparasitism, 5) Application of the biometrics authentication to epidemiological studies andsocial identification in developing countries, 6) Countermeasure of Problem Regarding Health in Sri Lankaand 7) JICA Partnership Program.
