Schistosomiasis collection at NHM (SCAN)

Abstract Background The Natural History Museum (NHM) is developing a repository for schistosomiasis-related material, the Schistosomiasis Collection at NHM (SCAN) as part of its existing Wolfson Wellcome Biomedical Laboratory (WWBL). This is timely because a major research and evaluation effort to understand control and move towards elimination of schistosomiasis in Africa has been initiated by the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE), resulting in the collection of many important biological samples, including larval schistosomes and snails. SCAN will collaborate with a number of research groups and control teams and the repository will acquire samples relevant to both immediate and future research interest. The samples collected through ongoing research and field activities, WWBL’s existing collections, and other acquisitions will be maintained over the long term and made available to the global research community for approved research purposes. Goals include: · Consolidation of the existing NHM schistosome and snail collections and transfer of specimens into suitable long-term storage systems for DNA retrieval, · Long-term and stable storage of specimens collected as part of on going field programmes initially in Africa especially relating to the SCORE research programmes, · Provision of access to snail and schistosome collections for approved research activities.