Czech Researchers Contribute to SOLAO Project on Soil-Transmitted Parasites

Does contaminated soil pose a public health risk of parasite infection to rural communities in Lao PDR? This is a key question which researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology (IVB) of the Czech Academy of Sciences are helping to address, through collaboration with the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) on the SOLAO (Soil Health Assessment in Laos) Project.

Implemented with financial support of the French Embassy in Laos, the SOLAO project aims to establish a national reference framework for soil health evaluation in Lao PDR, where over 65% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. While the project primarily examines soil physicochemical properties, the integration of parasitological analyses addresses important public health risks linked to environmental reservoirs of infection, with soil transmitted helminths (STHs) remaining a major public health interest in rural and remote areas of Lao PDR.

Dr. Barbora Pafčo and Dr. Bethan Mason, both from IVB, established a laboratory protocol for extracting STHs from soil samples, working closely with Dr. Sabrina Locatelli, IRD Representative in Laos, to develop a related training workshop. As part of this collaboration, Dr. Mason recently returned to Lao PDR, following her initial visit in 2024, to deliver the training to students from the Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute (Lao TPHI) and staff from the National Soil Analysis Laboratory, operated by the Department of Agricultural Land Management (DALaM). The three-week training covers theoretical aspects on the foundations of parasitology and STH ecology, before gaining practical experience in laboratory methods for microscopic analysis of soil samples for STH presence.

A second stage of the training is scheduled to take place next spring, again led by Dr. Mason, where participants will have the opportunity to learn molecular based approaches for investigating STH in soil samples. While the training this time was based at the University of Health Sciences in Vientiane, with previously collected soil samples, the second stage of the training will take place in Nakai at the International Centre for Environmental Research (CIREN). This interdisciplinary collaboration will not only advance understanding of the links between soil health, parasitic infections, and public health in rural communities in Lao PDR, but also contribute valuable knowledge and skills training to local scientists and students.

Contact:

Alena Fornůsková
fornuskova@ivb.cz

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