Uganda International Center for Excellence in Research

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

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-, tick-and mosquito-borne pathogens potentially causing disease in humans, wildlife, and livestock. A more comprehensive understanding of the ecology of known and unknown vector-borne zoonotic pathogens is essential for a risk assessment for local and global human and animal health. The emerging/re-emerging virus program has now been established on the campus of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda. We have procured most of the necessary equipment for the UVRI site and the lab is fully renovated and operational; 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 directed towards serological screening of vector-borne pathogens in livestock and in humans. Our primary research efforts have been screening human serum samples for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) and hantaviruses in collaboration with NIH researcher, Dr. Steven Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds leads the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) 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. Furthermore, we screened serum samples from positive individuals over an 8 – 10-year timespan and demonstrated that anti-CCHFV immunity likely lasts for decades (Mihalakakos et al., Emerg Microbes Infect 2025). We also identified seropositivity for RVFV and hantaviruses within the RCCS cohort and manuscripts are now being written (Nalwadda et al., in preparation; Katushabe et al., in preparation). Cumulatively, our projects aim to investigate vector, livestock and human samples to build a comprehensive understanding of disease circulation in Uganda. These collaborative projects will continue into the next fiscal year, with an expanded scope to include non-vector-borne pathogens such as filoviruses and Mpox. These data will support Ugandan and regional public health efforts to mitigate these public health burdens. It will also benefit global health including the US citizens. 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 vector surveillance. We also continue to build capacity at the site. At RML we have a post-baccalaureate student who has established a multiplex serological assay based on the Luminex Magpix platform (McCarthy et al., in preparation). In August 2025, we successfully deployed the Magpix instrument along with the antigen panel to UVRI. Currently this assay is successfully detecting antibodies to a number of high profile zoonotic viral pathogens including bunyaviruses, arenaviruses, flaviviruses and filoviruses, enabling simultaneous screening for over 20 pathogens of interest. The laboratory manager and master’s students have been trained on running the assay on the Magpix and have begun screening of the RCCS cohort. The Uganda ICER site operates under the motto from “Field-to Bench-to Bedside”. The bench work on high and maximum containment pathogens is performed at Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Using information generated at the Uganda ICER site, CCHFV countermeasure development has continued. We have worked on two CCHFV vaccine platforms, the replicating RNA (repRNA) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) platform (Hawman et al. NPJ Vaccines 2024; Tipih et al., NPJ Vaccines, 2025; Leventhal et al. Nat Commun 2024; Leventhal et l. eBioMed 2024; Leventhal et al. NPJ Vaccines, 2024). The CCHFV repRNA vaccine is ready to enter clinical trials. The CCHFV VSV vaccine vector has successfully passed small animal model efficacy. For the next funding period, we will do confirmatory efficacy testing in the nonhuman primate model for CCHFV. It is anticipated that at least one CCHFV vaccine will be used in Uganda in the future. As part of our focus on training, during this fiscal year, we had two master's students from Makerere University who performed serological assays for RVFV and hantaviruses as part of their master’s theses in collaboration with Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Byarugaba at Makerere University. These students have now successfully defended their master's theses in public health and epidemiology. We continue to employ a local laboratory manager who is responsible for ensuring successful operation of the laboratory.