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Help us fight Taenia Solium infections!

Varanasi, India

More than 4 billion people live in areas affected by T. solium, a tapeworm that infects humans and can lead to epilepsy and blindness. Dangerous infections often can not be diagnosed because no cheap test exists! We will develop such a test.

Z. Friedmann from Plurismo e.V.
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Plurismo e.V. creates and supports transnational social enterprises to improve living conditions of people living in developing countries.
One of the initiatives Plurismos supports is diagnost-x, a project run by 30 students of the biggest universities in Berlin with the support of experienced scientists of various fields. 
The goal of diagnostx is the development and implementation of a cheap, secure and simple diagnostic test for a T. solium infection. This is caused by the parasite T. Solium, a type of tapeworm which grows in the human gut where it reaches a length of 6 to 8 meters causing severe gastrointestinal diseases.
In more serious cases it can migrate to the brain or the eyes and cause cysts, epilepsy and blindness.
By reliably identifying carriers of T. solium, treatment can be efficiently directed to those who need it, saving resources and avoiding unnecessary side effects. Only in this way the most dangerous health effects can be averted.
A first prototype of the diagnostic method is almost complete and needs to be tested in a real-world environment.

Diagnost-x plans to send medical students to Varanasi, India in order to
  1.     test prototypes of the rapid test under real-world condition
  2.     screen the local populations for T. solium infections    
  3.     help educate the population about the risks of a T. solium infection    
  4.     redistribute medication and treat patients     

and therefore effectively help not only by its work in the lab, but also in the regions where people are suffering most from T. Solium infection.

This is where you can help. With your donation Plurimo helps to finance the travel and stay of these medical students. This is the next and crucial step in fighting T. solium infections with affordable diagnostics.