Difference between revisions of "Team:INSA-UPS France/Description"

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    <h3>Current solutions</h3>
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      <h4>Therapeutics</h4>
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      <p>
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        While direct preventive methods such as vaccination are currently used, they have been shown to have low efficiency<sup><a href="#ref3">3</a></sup>. The most used treatment is the <b>Oral Rehydratation Solution (ORS)</b>, composed of salts and glucose in order to fight the extreme loss of water due to cholera. It can be drunk or injected intravenously depending of the patient and his symptoms<sup><a href="#ref4">4</a></sup>.
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            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/c/c8/T--INSA-UPS_France--Description-therapeutics_1.png" alt="" style="height:200px;">
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      <h4>Water treatment</h4>
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      <p>
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        Moreover, most of the detection or purification methods need professionals to be performed<sup><a href="#ref3">3</a></sup>. Currently the most efficient ways to eradicate  cholera from water include sodium hypochlorite treatment or filters use. These existing prevention methods are expensive and difficult to set up. Finally, the main curative method, rehydrating patient with intravenous salted water, does not wipe out the disease vector. Even if the ORS treatment is really efficient, it would be more convenient for people to use prevention methods. However people living  in remote villages don&rsquo;t have easily access to these systems and it can take them days to reach a camp to be cured. Thus, new methods of prevention and treatment have to be developed.
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        That&rsquo;s why we decided to design  a system that treats water and is suitable for these situations.
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            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/3/36/T--INSA-UPS_France--Description-treatment_1.png" alt="" style="height:200px;"">
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            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/3/39/T--INSA-UPS_France--Description-treatment_2.png" alt="" style="height:200px;"">
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            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/d/d6/T--INSA-UPS_France--Description-treatment_3.png" alt="" style="height:200px;"">
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      </table>
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      <h4>Research effort in synthetic biology</h4>
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      <p>
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        Recently, research teams started to focus on synthetic biology in order to find a way to deal with <i>Vibrio cholerae</i><sup><a href="#ref5">5</a>,<a href="#ref6">6</a></sup>. Additionally, some iGEM teams also took the challenge of detecting <i>V. cholerae</i>, using <i>E. coli</i> as a host for the quorum sensing system, but it seems that this strategy did not succeed<sup><a href="#ref7">7</a></sup> or showed mixed results<sup><a href="#ref8">8</a></sup>. Most of the iGEM teams intended to prevent the cholera infection thanks to <b>gene targeting</b> such as cleaving toxicity genes<sup><a href="#ref9">9</a></sup> or inhibiting specific genes on the pathogen<sup><a href="10">10</a></sup>.
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Revision as of 22:54, 22 August 2017

Croc'n Cholera
Description

Cholera: still a widespread disease

Cholera is a worldwide diarrheal disease, caused by the ingestion of Vibrio cholerae in contaminated water. Nowadays cholera is still occurring in developing countries, war zones and natural disasters zones. The WHO reported over 1 million cases over the year 2015 and the mortality was around 1%1. In April 2017, a cholera epidemic burst in Yemen. In August, more than 500,000 cases have already been identified. These epidemics and crisis are sometimes still surpassing the abilities of the non-governmental organizations to help populations2 in the long-term. Drinking water shortages and the lack of hygienic facilities in developing countries are the main reasons explaining current outbreaks.

Current solutions

Therapeutics

While direct preventive methods such as vaccination are currently used, they have been shown to have low efficiency3. The most used treatment is the Oral Rehydratation Solution (ORS), composed of salts and glucose in order to fight the extreme loss of water due to cholera. It can be drunk or injected intravenously depending of the patient and his symptoms4.

Water treatment

Moreover, most of the detection or purification methods need professionals to be performed3. Currently the most efficient ways to eradicate cholera from water include sodium hypochlorite treatment or filters use. These existing prevention methods are expensive and difficult to set up. Finally, the main curative method, rehydrating patient with intravenous salted water, does not wipe out the disease vector. Even if the ORS treatment is really efficient, it would be more convenient for people to use prevention methods. However people living in remote villages don’t have easily access to these systems and it can take them days to reach a camp to be cured. Thus, new methods of prevention and treatment have to be developed. That’s why we decided to design a system that treats water and is suitable for these situations.

Research effort in synthetic biology

Recently, research teams started to focus on synthetic biology in order to find a way to deal with Vibrio cholerae5,6. Additionally, some iGEM teams also took the challenge of detecting V. cholerae, using E. coli as a host for the quorum sensing system, but it seems that this strategy did not succeed7 or showed mixed results8. Most of the iGEM teams intended to prevent the cholera infection thanks to gene targeting such as cleaving toxicity genes9 or inhibiting specific genes on the pathogen10.