>>>>THIS STUDY HAS NOW CONCLUDED & IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING PARTICIPANTS<<<<<
Welcome to the Worm Lab, a screening project led by the Brown Lab at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This site describes our effort to expand accessible screening for intestinal worms as a service to the public, an extension of our ongoing work on helminth infections and sanitation in the American South in collaboration with UAB and supported by CDC. Our work in this area builds on previous reports of hookworm infection in the region that suggests a link between poor sanitation and the persistence of endemic helminth infections (1993, 2017). Despite historically high prevalence of hookworm and other helminth infections in the American South, few current data are available on the extent of helminth infections in the USA.
We seek further evidence on this issue and are interested in making contact with individuals and groups where sanitation infrastructure is inadequate and there are concerns about helminth infection risk, a topic we have studied extensively in high-burden settings. We can accept samples for helminth screening from anyone in the United States interested in testing, and we can provide this service – for research purposes only – free of charge. This study and its procedures have been reviewed and approved by the UNC IRB and Office of Human Research Ethics.
To participate: all individuals submitting samples for testing must complete a consent form and then a brief survey so we know where to send your in-home collection kit and how best to contact you with your test results. The kit will come with instructions and a pre-paid return envelope. You will collect a small amount of stool into the tubes provided, place them in the return envelope, and mail everything back to the research team. Upon receiving the envelope with your samples, we will test them and then contact you with your results.
Please note: This is a research study. We will share the results of your laboratory test with you, but this test result is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Please contact joebrown@unc.edu. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak further about the project.