TB research at the Ifakara Health Institute |
- TB Team in Bagamoyo
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute has a long-lasting partnership with the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. This collaboration finds expression in TB research conducted at the Bagamoyo Research and Training Centre one branch of the Ifakara Health Institute located 60 km north of Dar es Salaam. The main areas of TB research in Bagamoyo are: Clinical trials on new TB vaccines and new TB treatment regimens, evaluation of new TB diagnostics, TB immunology and TB molecular epidemiology.
The molecular and immunology laboratories as well as the bio-safety level 3 laboratory (TB Lab Manager: Levan Jugheli, Swiss TPH) in Bagamoyo provide state-of-the art diagnostic procedures for detection and identification of mycobacteria, drug resistance testing, genotyping and cellular immunology research. The site also has a well-equipped laboratory for parasitology, haematology, clinical chemistry, HIV diagnosis and microbiology. The TB Research Clinic in Bagamoyo serves as recruitment site for study participants from rural areas while participants from urban neighborhoods are being recruited at the Mwananyamala Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
The following TB projects will be conducted in Bagamoyo:
- TB Epidemiology and Management in Tanzania (TB COHORT)
- Evaluation of new and emerging diagnostics for childhood tuberculosis in high burden countries (TB CHILD)
- Phase II Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of H1/IC31®, an adjuvanted TB Subunit Vaccine, in HIV-Infected Adults with CD4+ Lymphocyte Counts Greater than 350 cells/mm3
- Rapid evaluation of high dose rifampicin and other rifamycins in tuberculosis (HIGHRIF)
- Dissecting the Immunological Interplay between Poverty Related Diseases and Helminth Infections: An African-European Research Initiative (IDEA)