Plugging into microbiomes: UON researchers developing AI tool to cut pregnancy risks

Clinical researchers are developing an Artificial Intelligence tool that will help predict pregnancy risks. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK

Clinical researchers at the University of Nairobi (UON) are developing an Artificial Intelligence tool that will help predict pregnancy risks in Africa and break new ground in understanding how vaginal infections affect women’s reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes.

The team, led by Clinician-Scientist Prof Moses Madadi, says AI will be matched up together with next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, to power a five-year research project whose findings will aid medics in understanding the microorganisms present in various vaginal infections and their role in specific pregnancy outcomes.

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The scholars opine that if successful, the research which is the first of its kind in Kenya, will have a significant impact in improving pregnancy outcomes for women.

“This technology could enable us to identify whether women who deliver at term have a certain microbiome compared to those experiencing pre-term birth,” says Prof Madadi.

“The research also informs the development of faster and less invasive testing – such as a urine test – at the point of care, and potentially the development of more effective therapeutic treatments.”

In the study project outline, the researchers say they will screen and monitor over 1,500 women attending six medical facilities in Kenya over a period of two years, adding that the exploration will follow the first, second and third-trimester development with a control group, live births and women with outcomes of interest such as pre-term or stillbirths.

Having acquired advanced tools such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines to analyse bacteria, and an Illumina MiSeq sequencer for targeted and microbial genome applications, the team projects to use NGS and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech concepts to analyse microbial communities and metabolomics profiling to identify predictive and diagnostic signatures of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Prof Madadi says that in the third year of the research, the team will collaborate with computational biology students at the doctoral level to develop an AI model that will analyse the data and put in place prediction models that could be used to identify pregnancies that are at risk for timely interventions.

In the undertaking, the professionals have partnered with the International Vaginal Microbiome Research Consortium (VMRC), a group of researchers that is working to analyse the impact of the vaginal microbiome on women’s health.

“By working to identify predictive biomarkers for adverse pregnancy outcomes, we may be able to improve reproductive health for women not only in Kenya, but also around the world, and support health officials with better intervention strategies to support healthier pregnancy outcomes,” notes Prof Madadi.

Clinician-Scientist Prof Moses Madadi of the University of Nairobi. PHOTO | POOL

“Broad experience in clinical, basic and epidemiological research will be leveraged to establish a unique niche of translational research to support the health of women in Kenya and around the world.”

Data shows that Africa carries the highest burden of severe pregnancy complications in the world, such as stillbirths and neonatal deaths, with 27 infant mortalities in every 1,000 live births.

Global infections

World over, experts agree that vaginal infections, including Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), could have far-reaching implications on women’s reproductive health and their pregnancy outcomes.

Some reports indicate that around 20 percent of women attending gynaecology clinics in Kenya have vaginal infections that include bacterial vaginosis and parasitic infections, or STIs such as syphilis and gonorrhoea.

Data further suggests that as many as 73 percent of women have asymptomatic vaginal infections that if left untreated, could lead to multiple adverse outcomes for pregnancy and gynaecological health such as miscarriages, pre-term birth, foetal growth restriction, the premature rapture of the membranes or infertility.

However, comprehensive studies on the direct relation between pregnancy loss and reproductive health issues are not readily available, leaving medical practitioners with a glaring knowledge gap regarding the specific dangers that the microbes that are present in various infections pose to women’s reproductive journeys.

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According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), although 90 percent of women in rural Kenya seek antenatal care, many do not start until the second or third trimester when it’s too late for effective treatment.

Prof Madadi submits that with the advent of the new tool, chances of vaginal infections being identified and treated in a timely fashion will shoot up resulting in the reduction of the scale of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

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