Protocol now activated in all three JWARG partner countries
JWARG’s RV466 research protocol, a study designed to identify and characterize cases of suspected severe infectious disease, reached a key milestone in August with the enrollment of its 100th volunteer.
This multi-site protocol led by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program opened in Nigeria late last year and has now been activated at sites in Liberia and Ghana as well.
The study enrolls adult volunteers who present to clinics as severely ill with a suspected infectious source. In addition to receiving care, they provide specimens for laboratory analysis and complete a brief questionnaire that captures basic clinical, demographic and exposure data.
RV466 brings advanced diagnostic methods to bear in the West African hospital setting, including assays for the diagnosis of Lassa and other viral hemorrhagic fevers, generating data on circulating infectious disease threats in the region and informing countermeasure development.
The RV466 team has enrolled participants at two sites in Lagos (68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital and Ikorodu General Hospital), and in Makurdi at the 161 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, as well as in Ghana at the 37 Military Hospital and Liberia at the Camp EBK Clinic. The protocol is supported by reference laboratories in each country: the African Centre of Excellence for the Genomics of Infectious Disease (ACEGID) in Nigeria, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in Ghana, and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia.
This effort represents new collaborations between military, academic and public health labs in the subregion, developing a network of infectious disease research capability.