Dr. Anna Last and The Bijagós Islands

The Bijagós Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean and are part of the territory of Guinea-Bissau. They are a group of eighteen main islands and dozens of smaller ones. Actually, the southern part is a nature reserve, and the rest are populated and visited by tourists. The Islands aren`t only beautiful, they are also a natural laboratory that gives a unique scenario to study possible for the most deadly diseases on the planet.These quiet lands are home to many serious diseases. Life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau is around 60 years, and in the Bijagós Islands the number dicreases.

Medical researchers have been working in this Islands for many years to see if they can get rid of some diseases. The reason why the islands also function as a natural laboratory is their remote nature. Water creates a natural barrier that allows you to compare different disease control methods without the risk of contamination between test scenarios. In continental areas, people can enter and leave test areas, contaminating them and complicating the task of determining causes and effects. The insular areas, on the other hand, allow to measure with care and precision the impact of any intervention that is made.

Dr. Anna Last

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is mainly focused on an infectious disease that turns the tabs inward. It is called Trachoma and it actually affects 1.9 million people in the world. At one point, it affected all children in the Bijagós Islands. Dr. Anna Last of the LSHTM, identify areas of high risk of trachoma before treating entire communities with antibiotics to end the cycle of transmission. The demostrations collected with swabs inside the eyelids before and after the treatment helped the researchers to detect the disease at an early stage. They are also being used to identify what types of infection there were.

The results were amazing. When Last started working, 25% of the people on the islands had the disease. Now, only 0.3% of people suffer it. This is below the elimination threshold of the World Health Organization (WHO), which means that the disease is almost eradicated from the islands. And also that the techniques developed now could help the world in general.

Bibliography:

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-46219437?ocid=socialflow_twitter

https://elcomercio.pe/tecnologia/ciencias/bijagos-islas-paradisiacas-combaten-enfermedades-mortales-mundo-noticia-578948

By: MACS