2009 Infectious Diseases in Africa: Measurement of Immune Responses

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Three major infectious diseases are currently devastating the African continent: HIV-1, tuberculosis, and malaria. Approximately forty million people were living with HIV infection at the end of 2006, and of these, twenty-five million were living in Sub-Saharan Africa. If we consider the incidence of TB, 12 of the 15 countries with the highest estimated TB incidence rate are in Africa. Lastly, acute Malaria infections are responsible for approximately 1 million of deaths. Africa alone suffers 90% of these deaths. This incredible burden of diseases amongst African populations is causing devastation in all facets of society, most notably in the economies of most African countries. Although there are many measures in place to tackle the disease burden from HIV, TB and Malaria within countries worst affected, there remains a void in terms of training local scientists in some of the methodologies that would facilitate in-country research. In this grant, we believe that training of junior scientists should be conducted along with the implementation of in situ physical infrastructures, such as laboratories. It is important that in-country scientists have access to scientific knowledge and training to seek correlates of immune protection for these infectious diseases. By organizing this cycle of symposia, entitled: "Infectious Diseases in Africa: Measurement of Immune Response" (National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2008-2010), our objectives are: 1. To provide junior African investigators with the most recent data on the pathogenesis of HIV, TB, and Malaria and its implication for vaccine development. 2. To allow junior investigators the opportunity to discuss their own research projects with experts in the field. 3. To foster collaborations and enable and further existing African networks of scientists, where region-specific problems can be addressed in the future.