Cooperative Agreement NU51IP000929

SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE TO AVIAN AND PANDEMIC INFLUENZA IN UGANDA - PROJECT SUMMARYTHE IMPACT OF INFLUENZA INFECTION IN AFRICA IS NOT VERY WELL DOCUMENTED. HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE SHOWS THAT INFLUENZA HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. IN THE REGION, INFLUENZA VIRUSES ARE IMPORTANT RESPIRATORY PATHOGENS, AND ACUTE RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS, SUCH AS PNEUMONIA, ARE A MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH, PARTICULARLY AMONG CHILDREN. IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, MOST OUTBREAKS OF INFLUENZA GO UNREPORTED AND INFORMATION ABOUT CIRCULATING STRAINS IS RELATIVELY LIMITED. ALTHOUGH INFLUENZA HAS BEEN WIDELY STUDIED IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT ITS EPIDEMIOLOGY, SEASONALITY, AND BURDEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. IN 2006 FUNDING WAS OBTAINED FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INFLUENZA BRANCH IN ATLANTA, TO ESTABLISH AN INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM AND DIAGNOSTIC CENTER IN UGANDA. INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES WERE STARTED, AND THE UGANDA NATIONAL INFLUENZA CENTER (NIC) WAS REINSTATED AT UGANDA VIRUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. OVER THE PERIOD OF FIFTEEN YEARS, INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE IN UGANDA HAS BEEN WELL ESTABLISHED. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, SURVEILLANCE CAPACITIES, AND LABORATORY VIROLOGICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CAPACITIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, NOT ONLY FOR INFLUENZA BUT FOR OTHER DISEASES TOO. IT IS CRITICAL THAT THESE CAPACITIES CONTINUE TO BE SUSTAINED AND STRENGTHENED TO ENSURE AN EFFECTIVE NATIONAL SURVEILLANCE BUT ALSO TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GLOBAL DETECTION AND RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC INFLUENZA. THIS PROGRAM IS BENEFICIAL AS IT GENERATES INFORMATION FOR USE IN REDUCING THE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS. THE PROGRAM WILL COMMUNICATE DATA ON A WEEKLY BASIS TO THE WHO GLOBAL INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE SYSTEM (GISRS), FLUNET AND FLUID, AND ALSO PROVIDE ISOLATES OF INFLUENZA VIRUS TO THE ATLANTA WHO CC FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSIS AND USE IN VACCINE PRODUCTION.THE PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR FUNDING IS TO ENABLE UGANDA, THROUGH THE UVRI NATIONAL INFLUENZA CENTER, TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS AND PANDEMICS BY MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING THE EXISTING ROUTINE INFLUENZA SENTINEL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM AND DEVELOP CAPACITY TO MONITOR AND QUICKLY RESPOND TO HIGHLY PATHOGENIC VIRUSES AND BACTERIA TRANSMISSIBLE AMONG HUMANS (FROM ANIMALS), AS WELL AS IDENTIFY OUTBREAKS OF SEVERE RESPIRATORY ILLNESS SYNDROMES. ASSESSMENTS AND EVALUATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO GET INFORMATION ON GAPS AND WHERE THERE IS NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS. THE IDENTIFIED OUTBREAKS WILL BE RESPONDED TO USING A ONE HEALTH MODEL. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE MINISTRIES OF HEALTH, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL INDUSTRIES, AND FORESTRY, MINISTRY OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENT AND THE UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY WILL BE IMPROVED AND PLANS, AND MOUS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR WORKING TOGETHER ON SURVEILLANCE DISEASE INVESTIGATIONS. THE NATIONAL ONE HEALTH PLATFORM WILL PROVIDE A CHANNEL FOR COMMUNICATION. A TOTAL AMOUNT OF US $ 249,955.00 REQUESTED TO FACILITATE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE THREE COMPONENTS (US $ 140.000 FOR COMPONENT 1; US $ 59,955 FOR COMPONENT 2; AND US $ 50,000 FOR COMPONENT 3.