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Principal Investigator: Heinrich Feldmann
Organization: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $182,814
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Emerging/re-emerging zoonotic diseases are a major global health problem. Linking comprehensive pathogen surveillance of arthropod/vector populations in Uganda with public health surveillance at the regional and international level will make an important contribution to human and animal health in East Africa and the One World One Health concept in general. There will be a focus on rodent- and tick-borne pathogens potentially causing disease in humans, wildlife, and livestock. A more comprehensive understanding of the ecology of known and unknown rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens is essential for a risk assessment for local and global human and animal health.
The establishment of emerging/re-emerging virus program on the campus of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda is ongoing. We have procured most of the necessary equipment for the UVRI site; further equipment will be purchased when needed. Over the previous and current funding period we have refined molecular and serological detection assays for several pathogens including arenaviruses, bunyaviruses, coronaviruses filoviruses, and flaviviruses.
We have continued research at the Uganda ICER site directed towards serological screening of vector-borne pathogens in livestock and in humans. Our primary research effort has been screening human serum samples for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) and Hantavirues (HANTV) in collaboration with NIH researcher, Dr. Steven Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds leads the Rakai Community Cohort which for years has conducted community surveillance and serum collection from thousands of participants living in the Rakai district of Uganda. For these viruses we have identified significant seropositivity in the sample population. For CCHFV our studies have shown >7% seropositivity in fishing communities, a community that has been under-studied for CCHFV in Uganda. Additionally, through the RCCS, we screened serum samples from positive individuals over an 8 – 10 year timespan and demonstrated that anti-CCHFV immunity likely lasts for decades. This manuscript is currently in preparation. For RVFV and HANTV we are currently performing confirmatory assays to confirm the presumptive positives identified in our initial screening assays. Cumulatively, our project aims to investigate rodent, livestock and human samples to build a comprehensive understanding of disease circulation in Uganda. These collaborative projects will continue into next fiscal year and these data will support Ugandan public health efforts to mitigate these public health burdens.
As part of our focus on training, during this fiscal year, we had a post-baccalaureate trainee at the laboratory who established the serological assays for CCHFV. His post-baccalaureate training was very successful, and he has successfully entered med school. We also hired two master's students from Makerere University who are performing the serological assays for RVFV and HANTV in collaboration with Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Byarugaba at Makerere University. These students are working towards their master's in public health and epidemiology and are gaining firsthand experience in this field. We continue to employ a local laboratory manager who is responsible for ensuring successful operation of the laboratory. Additional collaborations are planned for FY25 with extramural researchers to screen for filovirus seroprevalence in the cohort population.
Over the past fiscal year, we have successfully developed workflows for confirming seropositivity to CCHFV, RVFV and HANTV through multiple independent assays and established collaborations with statisticians in country to perform statistical comparisons. We have continued our collaborations with the Ugandan National Livestock Resource Research Institute and other researchers at UVRI to continue livestock and rodent surveillance. We also continue to build capacity at the site. At RML we have a post-baccalaureate student who is establishing a multiplex serological assay based on the Luminex Magpix platform. We have purchased a Magpix instrument that along with the antigen panel will be deployed to UVRI in FY25. Currently this assay is successfully detecting antibodies to CCHFV, Lassa virus and filoviruses. Eventually, this assay will enable simultaneous screening for over 20 pathogens of interest. We have also purchased an additional ELISA reader and freezers to provide redundancy for critical samples and assays.
Towards, countermeasure development we continue to support critical pre-clinical studies to support advancement of a vaccine for CCHFV into clinical trials. The RNA vaccine for CCHFV is scheduled to enter human clinical trials in January 2025.
Terms: <Africa><Animal Model><Animal Models and Related Studies><Animals><Antigens><Arenaviridae><Arenavirus><Arenavirus group><Arthropoda><Arthropods><Assay><Bacteria><Bioassay><Biological Assay><Bionomics><Blood Serum><Bunyavirus><Causality><Cell Culture System><Circulation><Clinical Trials><Collaborations><Collection><Communities><Congo Virus><Congo hemorrhagic fever virus><Coronaviridae><Coronavirus><Country><Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever Virus><Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus><Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever orthonairovirus><Data><Development><Disease><Disorder><ELISA><EXTMR><Ecology><Education and Training><Ensure><Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay><Epidemiology><Equipment><Etiology><Extramural><Extramural Activities><Farm Animal><Fever><Filoviridae><Filovirus><Fishes><Flavivirus><Funding><Group B Arbovirus><Health><Human><Immunity><In Vitro><Individual><International><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Investigators><Laboratories><Lassa fever virus><Lassa virus><Link><Livestock><Manuscripts><Microbiology><Modern Man><Modernization><Molecular><NIAID><NIH><National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease><National Institutes of Health><Orthobunyavirus><Orthoflavivirus><Participant><Population><Population Surveillance><Postbaccalaureate><Preparation><Public Health><Public Health Surveillance><Pyrexia><RNA vaccine><RNA-based vaccine><Reader><Research><Research Institute><Research Personnel><Research Resources><Researchers><Resources><Rift Valley Fever><Rift Valley fever virus><Risk Assessment><Rodent><Rodentia><Rodents Mammals><Role><Sampling><Schedule><Schools><Serology><Serology test><Seroprevalences><Serum><Site><Students><Surveillance Program><Therapeutic><Training><Training and Education><Transmission><Uganda><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><Vaccines><Viral><Virus><Zoonoses><Zoonotic><Zoonotic Infection><antibody based detection><antibody detection><bacteria pathogen><bacterial pathogen><causation><clinical relevance><clinically relevant><cohort><corona virus><detect antibodies><detection assay><developmental><disease causation><emergent virus><emerging virus><enzyme linked immunoassay><epidemiologic><epidemiological><experience><febrile><febris><field based data><field learning><field study><field test><global health><immunogen><in vivo><insight><instrument><interest><international center><interventional strategy><mRNA vaccine><mRNA-based vaccine><model of animal><operation><operations><pathogen><pathogenic bacteria><post-graduate education><postbac><postbacc><postgraduate education><pre-clinical study><preclinical study><preparations><programs><screening><screenings><serology assay><seropositive><social role><tick-borne pathogen><tickborne pathogen><training opportunity><transmission process><vector><vector-borne pathogen><vectorborne pathogen><viral emergence>