NCT04012164

Viral and Microbial Circulation Between Humans, Domesticated and Wild Animals Along an Ecotone, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: Institut Pasteur · Industry
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will evaluate the overlap between the intestinal microbiome and virome of wild and domesticated animals and human beings living in close proximity in three sites along an ecotone (ecological gradient) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Detailed description

The MICROTONE study sheds light on zoonotic disease emergence by examining social and ecological pathways facilitating microbial and viral flows between people and selected wild and domesticated animals along a gradient of ecological change in a forest-savanna mosaic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an epicenter of zoonotic disease emergence. The investigators analyze potential viral and bacterial overlap among humans and animals and explain this overlap (or not) through social sciences and ecological analyses of human and animal mobilities, practices and contacts. This multi-disciplinary, multi-species investigation in an ecotone (a transitional ecological zone linked to zoonotic disease emergence) offers a "pre-history" of spillover and emergence, tracing an ecological zeb of virome and microbial sharing among humans and animals. It will elucidate why such microbial and viral flows occur. To conduct this investigation,there are two human sub-studies: the social sciences participatory study; and the clinical study. The clinical study will involve 30 human subjects from whom blood and stool samples will be collected. The social sciences participatory study will involve self-collected activity and animal contact data and oral interviews among 60 human subjects.

Conditions

• Zoonotic Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BIOLOGICAL	blood sampling	5ml blood sampling
BIOLOGICAL	stool collection	self stool collection (2g)
OTHER	Participatory activity and contact investigation	30 human subjects will self-report daily activities and contacts with selected wild and domesticated animals for five months.
OTHER	Anthropological and historical interviews	Oral interviews on current and past practices and engagements with wild and domesticated animals will be conducted with the 30 human subjects who are recruited to self-report their activities (Participatory activity and contact investigation) and to provide blood and stool samples. Another 30 human subjects will be recruited only to participate in the same type of interviews, addressing past and present activities and relations with wild and domesticated animals.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-03-15
• Primary completion: 2021-09-21
• Completion: 2021-09-21
• First posted: 2019-07-09
• Last updated: 2024-03-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Democratic Republic of the Congo