While outbreaks of new, exotic infectious diseases, as well as the resurgence of old killer diseases, have surfaced all over the globe in the past decades, no continent has been harder hit than Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is among the most affected region and is often referred to as the ?Infectious Continent.? Africa is faced with the greatest burden of old and new infectious diseases, and yet it has very low levels of resource to manage them. Uganda, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, has had numerous highly infectious disease outbreaks occurring concurrently or in very quick succession over the past few years. Presently, there is an outbreak of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus infection among people. Over 15 cases have been diagnosed in the past few months. In the past 2 years, Uganda has been experiencing Rift Valley Fever Virus outbreaks together with Yellow Fever virus and Marburg virus outbreaks. There is need for precise and effective targeting of resources, where laboratory disease detection, identification, monitoring, risk mapping and assessment systems are put in place as the best strategy to stop disease spread at an early stage or preventing them altogether.
The aim of this proposal is to describe a multiyear project investigating and controlling vector-borne and zoonotic disease in Uganda. Our proposal is to improve and maintain an effective, coordinated program of diagnostics and surveillance of vector-borne infections and High Hazard Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses to collect data and information on the diseases, vectors and reservoir systems, ensuring prompt recognition and confirmation of disease outbreaks which would enable action to be taken before the diseases have affected many people, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality.
We aim to investigate, characterize and control environmental and faunal aspects of filovirus outbreaks in Uganda and neighboring countries. In under-resourced countries, like Uganda, the impact of infectious diseases is often devastating - decreasing survival rates, particularly among children, and impeding opportunities for economic growth and development. Ultimately, national surveillance systems need to be strong enough to provide not only constant alert and rapid response to outbreaks of known endemic diseases, but also ready to respond to a sudden unexpected outbreak of an unknown disease. Early detection of diseases, through improved laboratory and field surveillance, new diagnostic tools, risk mapping, and continued monitoring as envisaged in this proposal will assist to alleviate poverty, suffering and death of the Ugandans due to zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. In this proposal we are requesting for assistance of in funding of US $ 2,999,978.00 to sustain and improve systems of surveillance and detection of diseases to reduce morbidity and mortality in affected people as well as reduce spread of the diseases to other areas. This proposal will be a collaboration of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), together with different Branches of the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, USA.
This project will benefit the people of Uganda by improving the surveillance system for vector- borne and zoonotic diseases, thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases, investing in the health infrastructure of Uganda, educating and training public health officials and the public on surveillance and control of these diseases, investing in academic development and capacity building for Uganda?s Research Institutions, Universities and the Ministry of Health. We aim to improve and maintain effective, coordinated programs of diagnostics and surveillance of vector-borne infections and High Hazard Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses to collect data and information on the diseases, vectors and reservoir systems, ensuring prompt recognition and confirmation of disease outbreaks which would enable action to be taken before the diseases have affected many people, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality by designing, evaluating and disseminating economically sustainable control strategies based on scientific knowledge gained from investigating the host, vector and pathogen epidemiology and ecology, the associated environmental and human behavioral risk factors, accurate and laboratory-based case surveillance and confirmation, pathogen microbiology and clinical treatment. We aim to investigate, characterize and control environmental and faunal aspects of filovirus outbreaks in Uganda and neighboring countries including 1) identifying those reservoirs which support the maintenance of filoviruses in nature, 2) determining the environmental factors which facilitate their spread, 3) strengthening of the capability within Uganda to more rapidly detect hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, and 4) development of better educational materials to enhance hemorrhagic fever awareness among the population.
