AUA Students Research Public and Community Health Issues in Antigua

The American University of Antigua (AUA) hosted their annual Student Research Day at their Jabberwock Campus. This event has been introduced by the University to enable medical students enrolled in the Research Course No.  6813 to acquire research experience during basic science studies that will help in their preparedness for clinical studies and residency. It allows them to present their research findings locally to a wide audience that included medical students, local physicians, Ministry of Health officials, healthcare professionals and the public. The research will be published in scientific papers and distributed all over the world.

Dr. O. Dipeolu, Chair and Professor of Microbiology at AUA says, "Because of AUA's policy of maintaining close relationships with  the Antiguan community, students' research  are oriented toward addressing  public and community health problems in Antiguan communities  and  providing solutions to them through research. In so doing, AUA students are able to interact with Antiguan households and gain a better understanding of the socio-culture of our hosts."

Among the topics researched this year were The Prevalence of Resistance of a Pathogenic Bacteria commonly found in the human population in Antigua to be resistant to penicillin, Public Health Implications of the presence of Giant African Land Snails in Antigua, and how the Mosquito Vector of Dengue Fever can be controlled in Antigua. Six groups presented informative audiovisual presentations on their findings, and local donors including Harney Motors, Antigua and Barbuda Investment Bank and CECO Pharmacy awarded prizes to the top three winners. The findings showed that African Giant Land Snails found in agricultural farms in Antigua do not carry any disease pathogenic to humans, and that there are affordable ways of controlling the mosquito vector of Dengue fever in Antiguan households such that the population will be so low that they will not be able to transmit the disease.  

Guest Speaker Dr. X. J. Meng, professor of Molecular Virology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, delivered a feature address on the Hepatitis E virus, which is an emerging Zoonotic disease of public health importance. Dr. Meng outlined that it is safe to eat liver and pork once it is well cooked. He also put the minds of veterinarians at rest by revealing research that showed that Veterinarians are not exposed to the virus long enough to get infected. In fact, they build up antibodies to the virus.

 Dr. Francis, Assistant Professor of Anatomy, presented the awards on behalf of the panel of judges. Group 1 won the poster competition for their presentation on the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus among community populations in Antigua. Group 6, Kyle Varner, won top prize with his presentation of the Possibility of Usage of Ovitraps in Integrated Mosquito control in Antigua.

Dr. Bell, Dean of AUA, expressed his pleasure with the professionalism and high standard of the research presented. He congratulated all the groups and wished them all the best in their future studies. Dona Hasou, SGA Executive Board President, gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the student body.