KEMRI/CDC Overview

Highlights

148 infants have participated in the 1st ever multi-site TB vaccine trial in over 80 years
The Malaria Branch is participating in the RTS,S malaria vaccine trial wich has shown a 55.8% effectiveness for malaria in 5-17 month old children
We are implementing new lab technology called Taqman Low-Density Array (TLDA) cards with our partners for simultaneous detection of up to 40 viral and bacterial agents from patients within 2.5 hours
We have technically assisted 13 laboratories in Kenya to achieve accreditation through the WHO-AFRO’s Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation (SLMTA) Program
The HIV Research HPTN052 study shows findings of 96% reduction in HIV transmission using early antiretroviral therapy in serodiscordant couples

KEMRI/CDC Overview

The KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration is a sophisticated and comprehensive platform for service delivery and scientific study. Researchers measure the impact, effectiveness and safety of interventions and service delivery. We work together to innovate health care.

In 1979 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) established a partnership called the KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration to focus on malaria research. The collaboration has expanded its mission and staffing to become a comprehensive research platform with projects and studies located throughout Kenya. KEMRI/CDC’s work now includes research on HIV, TB, emerging infections, neglected tropical diseases and other public health issues.

The collaboration includes support for HIV prevention and care programs and a state-of-the-art health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) and other population-based platforms to assess disease burden, disease outbreaks and health intervention impact in communities.

The Health and Demographic Surveillance System

A key element of the KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration is the Health and Demographic Surveillance System. Within the geographically defined area of the HDSS, scientists studying health-related issues are able to precisely monitor and measure interventions and their health impact. The HDSS collects data from 225,061 persons in 385 villages, in Nyanza Province, every
four months.

Global Disease Detection

Global Disease Detection (GDD)’s integrated approach to disease detection and response reduces the time it takes to identify and control public health risks. GDD works to help Kenya and the region detect and respond to serious public health threats like cholera, Ebola, influenza, Rift Valley fever, polio and typhoid. GDD also runs two population-based disease surveillance platforms: one in rural western Kenya and one in Kibera, an influenza program, an animal-human health program and a refugee health program. GDD also manages the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program and a laboratory science program.

HIV Research

HIV research conducted at KEMRI/CDC focuses on evaluating new tools to prevent the spread of the epidemic and improve the health of persons already infected with HIV. Results from the HIV research branch are ground-breaking and have influenced health care policy both in Kenya and around the world.
Malaria Research
Malaria research at KEMRI/CDC focuses on case management and prevention and monitoring and evaluating interventions such as vaccines and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Studies on malaria among pregnant women (IPTp) are ongoing and assess the effectiveness of currently recommended and new drugs used for prevention and treatment. Malaria research conducted at KEMRI/CDC has had a crucial influence on national and international malaria prevention and treatment policy.

HIV Implementation Science and Services (HISS)

The KEMRI/CDC HISS branch reduces the impact of the HIV epidemic by providing HIV prevention such as counseling and testing, youth programs, prevention of mother to child transmission services, and care and treatment services. HISS studies how these HIV-related services are implemented, what their impact is, and evaluates best practices to determine what needs to be improved.

Tuberculosis Research

To measure the TB burden in Kenya and to help foster new and creative ways of preventing and treating the disease, KEMRI/CDC works with local communities and GoK to innovate service delivery to vulnerable communities. TB staff and labs are equipped and prepared to test new diagnostics, vaccine candidates and new treatment regimens once they become available.

Neglected Tropical Diseases

Research at the NTD branch is focused on understanding the immunology, geographic distribution and prevalence of neglected tropical diseases as well as to studying their impact on co-infections with other illnesses like TB and HIV and in so doing develop control strategies for affected communities.

281 7772400 10058400 259 261 257 276 262 279 1 0`````````````````````` 5 1 0 285 282 1 False 0 0 0 0 -1 304800 243 True 128 77 255 3175 3175 70 True True True True True 278 134217728 1 9 -9999996.000000 -9999996.000000 8 2105633 2105633 130600 0 8079405 8079405 1801059240 0 3196923 3196923 1750860776 11 2967783 2967783 66962152 0 13948636 13948636 741360104 28 11367680 11367680 447216040 0 8799318 8799318 161592744 0 16777215 16777215 8 0 Bluebird 22860000 22860000 (`@````````` 266 263 5 110185200 110185200

What we’re doing

Developing New Tools for Control

Evaluating the safety and effecacy of a new TB vaccine and a new TB drug to see if they work better than current tools, and we are evaluating new TB diagnostic tests to see how well they work.

Building Collaborations

Working in partnerships with local, national, and international colleagues builds on our collective knowledge of TB. These alliances can speed up
the learning curve to find the answers needed to eliminate TB.

KEMRI/CDC collaborates with the Ministry of Health, for example, to strengthen their TB control program by helping them answer important research questions and helping to make sure answers are translated into policy and practice. The TB branch also collaborates with other KEMRI/CDC branches helping to answer the TB component to other diseases like HIV or schistosomiasis.

Laboratory Services

The KEMRI/CDC TB laboratory is now a biosafety level 3 (BSL 3) laboratory, making it capable of doing sophisticated TB testing, like testing for drug resistance. As of January 2012, it started supporting the Ministry of Health by doing tests for drug resistant TB for all patients who need this test in Nyanza province. This will help these patients get the diagnostic testing results they need more quickly.