Document text
Principal Investigator: Scott C Weaver
Organization: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $1,506,495
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV), as well as rodent- and
bat-borne viruses such as Lassa fever and probably Ebola, are among the most important causes of emerging
infectious diseases, and many circulate enzootically in W. Africa. The mechanisms whereby these and other
zoonotic African viruses emerge and spread remain obscure, along with the understanding of their disease
burden and varied clinical outcomes. The West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases will address
these critical gaps through field studies of enzootic transmission, and clinical studies of human exposure and
disease outcome. Our surveillance of humans, and wild animals, including bats (probable hosts of filoviruses,
coronaviruses and henipaviruses), and mosquitoes/ticks, will likely identify new emerging viral pathogens.
Further, the infrastructure and local expertise developed through these projects in Senegal, Sierra Leone and
Nigeria, along with biosafety/biosecurity training and improved diagnostics, will also prepare the region for
future outbreaks of emerging viral and other infectious diseases. The Center’s aims are to:
1. Study zoonotic arboviruses in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, including identification and
characterization of critical reservoir and amplification hosts, enzootic and epidemic vectors, temporal
patterns of enzootic and epidemic circulation, levels of human exposure, immune responses and disease
outcomes. The emphasis will be on the 4 “urban” (human amplified) arboviruses: CHIKV, DENV, YFV and
ZIKV, but other known and possibly unknown viruses will also be studied. Risk maps will be generated.
2. In Sierra Leone and Nigeria, study the circulation among rodent hosts and infections of humans by Lassa
virus, including identification of viral determinants of hemorrhagic disease severity and sequelae outcomes,
and determination of the mechanisms of strain virulence variation. Risk maps will also be generated.
3. Perform surveillance in bats to identify potential sources of Ebola virus in W. Africa as well as other known
or unknown zoonotic pathogens, including coronaviruses and henipaviruses that may be causing human
disease, and which may explain the origins of emerging pathogens such as Nipah and MERS coronavirus.
4. Establish biocontainment and biosecurity training programs, advanced yet affordable viral genomics
capabilities, and comprehensive diagnostics to support these aims as well as to improve research
infrastructure and future outbreak responses in W. Africa.
Our results will increase the mechanistic understanding of zoonotic viral maintenance and emergence,
etiologies of febrile and hemorrhagic diseases, diverse disease outcomes, and risks for local and international
spread. Novel viruses with emergence potential will likely be discovered, and existing collaborations between
the Univ. of TX Medical Branch and its partners in Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, as well as research
infrastructure, will be strengthened to prepare for and respond quickly and effectively to future outbreaks.
Terms: <AIDP><Acute Autoimmune Neuropathy><Acute Infective Polyneuritis><Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy><Acute Inflammatory Polyneuropathy><Acute Inflammatory Polyradiculoneuropathy><Affect><Africa><African><Americas><Angola><Arboviral><Arboviruses><Arthralgia><Arthropod-Borne Viruses><Asia><Bats><Bleeding><Breakbone Fever Virus><CHIKV><Caribbean><Caribbean Sea Region><Caribbean region><Causality><Central America><Chikungunya virus><Chiroptera><Chronic><Circulation><Clinical><Clinical Research><Clinical Study><Collaborations><Communicable Diseases><Coronaviridae><Coronavirus><Country><Culicidae><DENV><Dengue><Dengue Virus><Dengue fever virus><Diagnostic><Disease><Disease Outbreaks><Disease Outcome><Disorder><EBOV><Ebola><Ebola virus><Ebola-like Viruses><Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network><Emerging Communicable Diseases><Emerging Infectious Diseases><Epidemic><Epidemic Hemorrhagic Fever><Etiology><Europe><Fever><Filoviridae><Filovirus><Florida><Goals><Guillain Barré Syndrome><Guillaine-Barre Syndrome><Health Care Providers><Health Personnel><Healthcare Providers><Healthcare worker><Hemorrhage><Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome><Hemorrhagic Nephroso-Nephritis><Henipavirus><Hospitals><Human><Immune Diseases><Immune Disorders><Immune Dysfunction><Immune System Diseases><Immune System Disorder><Immune System Dysfunction><Immune System and Related Disorders><Immune response><Immunodeficiency and Immunosuppression Disorders><Immunologic Diseases><Immunological Diseases><Immunological Dysfunction><Immunological System Dysfunction><Immunological response><Indian Ocean><Infection><Infectious Disease Pathway><Infectious Diseases><Infectious Disorder><Infrastructure><International><Ixodida><Joint Pain><Korean Hemorrhagic Fever><Laboratories><Landry's paralysis><Landry-Guillain-Barre Syndrome><Lassa Fever><Lassa disease><Lassa fever virus><Lassa virus><MERS corona virus><MERS coronavirus><MERS virus><MERS-CoV><Maintenance><Maps><Medical><Mexico><Microcephaly><Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus><Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus><Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Virus><Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-CoV><Middle East Respiratory Virus><Middle East Respiratory coronavirus><Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus><Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus><Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Virus><Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome-CoV><Modern Man><Monitor><Mosquitoes><Nigeria><Nipah><Non-Polyadenylated RNA><Outbreaks><Outcome><Pattern><Persons><Probability><Public Health><Pyrexia><RNA><RNA Gene Products><Research Infrastructure><Ribonucleic Acid><Risk><Rodent><Rodentia><Rodents Mammals><Senegal><Severity of illness><Sierra Leone><Source><South America><Texas><Ticks><Time><Training><Training Programs><Transmission><Variant><Variation><Viral><Viral Diseases><Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers><Virulence><Virus><Virus Diseases><West Indies Region><Wild Animals><Yellow Fever><ZIKV><ZIKV infected><ZIKV infection><ZIKV positive><Zika Virus><Zika virus infection><Zoonoses><Zoonotic><Zoonotic Infection><acute idiopathic polyneuritis><acute post-infectious polyneuropathy><acute postinfectious polyneuropathy><arthropod transmission><arthropod transmitted><arthropod-borne><arthropodborne><bat-borne><batborne><biosecurity><blood loss><burden of disease><burden of illness><causation><congenital zika syndrome><congenital zika virus syndrome><congenital zikv syndrome><corona virus><disease burden><disease causation><disease severity><eMERGE Consortium><eMERGE Network><emergent outbreak><emergent virus><emerging outbreak><emerging pathogen><emerging virus><enzootic><exposed human population><febrile><febris><field based data><field learning><field study><field test><future outbreak><health care personnel><health care worker><health provider><health workforce><healthcare personnel><hemorrhagic fever><host response><human disease><human exposure><immune system response><immunoresponse><improved><infected with ZIKV><infected with zika><medical personnel><micrencephaly><microencephaly><new outbreak><new pathogen><next outbreak><novel outbreak><novel pathogen><novel virus><outbreak in the future><outbreak response><pathogen><pathogenic virus><programs><public health emergency><transmission process><treatment provider><vector><viral emergence><viral genomics><viral infection><viral pathogen><virus genomics><virus infection><virus pathogen><virus-induced disease><zika infected><zika infection><zika viral infection><zikav>