Aetiology of Diarrhoea in Children Under Five in Zambia Detected Using Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel

• Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five worldwide.
• Rotavirus is well documented as the principal cause of severe and moderate diarrhoea.
• Two rotavirus vaccines are currently marketed internationally and have been introduced into routine immunisation schedules in high burden countries including Zambia.
• A large number of randomised, controlled trials have shown that both vaccines are 80%-90% efficacious against severe Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in countries higher income countries- with very low child mortality; and 40% - 60% efficacious in lower income countries with-high child mortality. This relatively poor performance of live oral vaccines in these settings remains unexplained.

Sero-prevalence of arthropod-borne viruses' infections among Lukanga swamps residents in Zambia
The emergence and re-emergence of vector borne diseases affecting millions of people in recent years has drawn attention to arboviruses globally. Notwithstanding the World Health Organization’s February 2016 announcement of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern following ZIKV transmission and a possible link to congenital disorders in the Americas and the Pacific Islands, it is challenging to predict where and when arbovirus outbreaks will occur. However, serological surveys in which antibody responses to an arbovirus are measured, allow direct measurement of the population that remain susceptible for future infection. This study reported sero-prevalence of arboviruses among Lukanga swamps residents in Zambia

The global burden of cholera is increasing, with the majority (60%) of the cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, widespread cholera outbreaks have occurred since 1977, predominantly in the capital city of Lusaka.
Against this background, the EDVRU at CIDRZ are actively involved in many cholera works both at national and international level.

• At National level, Dr Roma Chilengi has been nominated to sit on the National Cholera Elimination Plan (NCEP) steering committee.
• At International level,EDVRU Cholera team has partnered with London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM) to generate a conceptual framework involving the use of innovative and cross-disciplinary intervention-based research to eliminate cholera in Zambia. Once fully developed and piloted, we hope it can be replicated in many other countries ravaged by cholera. Our team is also working on a number of cholera projects with David Sack’s group based at Johns Hopkins University

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