West African Emerging Infectious Disease Research Center (WA-EIDRC)

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Project Summary/Abstract: Despite bearing a high burden of infectious diseases, Sierra Leone lacks a suitable system for surveillance and outbreak response to emerging and existing pathogens. Through additional support and funding, WARN-ID will be able to not only implement a high-throughput, multi- analyte diagnostic testing platform as part of a comprehensive national surveillance system, but also build local capacity for continued testing during outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, its variants, and other diseases like Lassa fever, Ebola, and malaria, which is the leading cause of death and illness in Sierra Leone. The data that is generated from mCARMEN will be used to obtain clinical validation and regulatory approval from the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, as well as inform future scale-up and integration into data visualization platforms beyond the scope of this award. Further, developing the appropriate infrastructure to respond to COVID-19 and other pathogenic threats will impact the country’s future ability to identify and respond to potential outbreaks, by helping to lay the groundwork for a robust, sustainable public health infrastructure able to detect emerging and reemerging pathogens and their variants.