The Sanitary Parasitology Unit of the Universitat de València has officially been named a WHO collaborating centre for the research of human fascioliasis, a parasitic disease considered emergent by the World Health Organization. The disease is estimated to affect 2.4 million people, with an additional 180 million at risk of infection.
The Valencian multidisciplinary team, which has been recognised as a collaborating centre, is made up of three research groups. The World Health Organization has assigned different responsibilities to each group for researching this emergent disease, which has been affecting Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The research group led by Professor Dr Santiago Mas-Coma will be in charge of epidemiology and control, the group led by Dr María Dolores Bargues will handle transmission and vectors, and the team directed by Dr María Adela Valero will focus on diagnosis and immunopathology. This designation will be in force for four years, with the possibility of further continuity.
This international acknowledgement highlights the work and the lines of research carried out by the Universitat de València and, particularly, the efforts of these research groups. They have been working in different countries and continents during epidemics, helping different United Nations’ organisations fight against this highly pathogenic disease, which primarily affects children and women and causes underdevelopment in affected communities.
WHO collaborating centres
WHO collaborating centres are institutions designated by the Director‑General of WHO to carry out activities in support of its programmes in fields such as nursing, occupational health, communicable diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases and health technologies.
In Spain, there are eleven WHO collaborating centres in addition to the Sanitary Parasitology Unit of the Universitat de València. Only two universities are included within these centres: the recently designated Universitat de València and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in Pharmacoepidemiology. The other ten collaborating centres are institutes, centres and hospitals, but not university departments. The Carlos III Health Institute, the Spanish National Transplant Organisation, the Barcelona Public Health Agency, the European Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Odontology and the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital are among the collaborating centres located in Madrid, Barcelona or Santander.
The WHO collaborating centre of the Universitat de València is the only centre in the Valencian Community, as well as the only centre in the world dedicated to human fascioliasis. The Universitat de València has officially collaborated with WHO for 25 years.
