ABSTRACT

Diarrheal illnesses are a leading cause of preventable death in children under five in low- and middle-income countries. These illnesses result from exposure to enteric pathogen which are transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Exposure routes can be blocked
through adequate drinking water treatment, sanitation facilities, and hygiene practices (WASH). While these pathways are well understood conceptually, few studies have explored household level transmission and the impacts of WASH interventions with empirical measurements of enteric pathogens. In this talk, I will present the results of my work to quantify the impact of a sanitation intervention on the presence of enteric pathogens in rural Bangladeshi households. I will also discuss the use of indicator bacteria and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to determine the relative importance of human and animal sources of fecal contamination in these households.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Erica Fuhrmeister is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University. She received her B.S in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental engineering from UC Berkeley. Dr. Fuhrmeister studies reservoirs and transmission of enteric pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in order to develop innovative interventions to prevent illnesses. In her postdoctoral work, she is investigating the transmission of antimicrobial resistance between humans, poultry, and the environment in urban Kenya using metagenomics. Dr. Fuhrmeister is passionate about providing
opportunities for underrepresented groups in academia and thinking about ways to increase access to authentic research experiences.