Dundee Schools

Description

For our project we wanted to tackle the problem of infections in developing countries, and chose cholera and shigellosis to focus on. We decided on these two infections because they are the cause of millions of deaths a year and right now cures aren’t readily available for the people effected to use. So our final idea came to be a preventative that stops Vibrio cholerae and Shigella from being virulent. We have designed a strategy of doing this through the process of RNA interference (RNAi).

Cholera

Cholera is a diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae through the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Without proper treatment, within hours severe dehydration and even death can occur due to the infections symptoms: acute watery diarrhoea.

Shigellosis

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection, caused by the group of bacteria Shigella, that affects the digestive system. The infection is spread through contaminated water and food and irritates the intestines. The main symptom of shigellosis is diarrhoea.

We created two modular synthetic devices that work together to target these infections called SORD and spiRNA. You can read all about them here