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Viral Epidemiology and Control
Research within the Virus Epidemiology and Control group centres on the epidemiology of medically important viral pathogens in the developing country setting, including respiratory viruses (and in particular respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) and rotavirus. The emphasis is on improved understanding of the determinants of infection dynamics, in relation to host behaviour, demography and immunity, and of parasite transmissibility and antigenic diversity, and to provide a framework for the rational design of control programmes. Projects combine community-based studies in households and schools, immunology and molecular characterisation, and mathematical and statistical modelling. The research is multidisciplinary and collaborative, with applications to public health policy.
The team located within the Epidemiology and Demography Cluster comprises 1 Post Doc (molecular virology), 4 PhD students (crossing the disciplines of epidemiology, biomathematics, immunology and molecular biology), 4 RAs (viral sequencing, age-seroprevalence studies, school based transmission and social epidemiology), and staff running the virology lab (real time multiplex PCR for respiratory pathogens, sequencing, ELISA, neutralisation and immunofluorescent based assays), paediatric hospital ward studies and field operations.
Historically we link principally with colleagues at Warwick University and the Health Protection Agency, both in the UK, but also increasingly within Kenya. Enhanced collaboration within Kenya was very much the catalyst for convening the First Medical and Veterinary Virus Research in Kenya (MVVR-K) in Sept 2011, with partners at Walter Reed Project (USAMRU-K) and CDC-Kenya.