Overview
Application of genomics and modeling to the control of virus pathogens (GEMVI) in East Africa.
Sponser
National Institute of Health Research in collaboration with KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme - Kilifi, Kenya.
Principal Investigator
Abstract
Decreasing malaria transmission in endemic regions, has unmasked the clinical importance of
non-malaria febrile acute illness (NM-AFI) caused by viruses, in patients with a negative
parasitological test. However, little is known about this viral NM-AFI prevalence, vector
proliferation, and associated socio-economic repercussions. Most viruses associated with
etiology remain largely unidentified by the slow insensitive and unspecific clinical diagnostic
tests that impede pragmatic life-saving treatment. Consequently, continued presumptive
broad-spectrum antibiotic prescriptions to aparasitaemic patients still drives drug resistance,
and lead to poor treatment outcomes. Establishing the composition of viral pathogens
causing NM-AFI is essential to reducing disease burden. This study seeks to reduce morbidity
and mortality due to NM-AFI by improving detection and distinction of NM-AFI associated
viruses, thereby providing insights on disease etiology. These findings will be used to develop directed diagnostic tests that improve routine disease monitoring and guidelines on viral NM-
AFI management in endemic resource-poor clinical settings.