Uganda Virus Research Institute
 |
This article or section may have been copied and pasted from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Uganda+Virus+Research+Institute+(UVRI)%2c+in+collaboration+with+the...-a0141719033 (DupDet · CopyVios), possibly in violation of Wikipedia's copyright policy. Please remedy this by editing this article to remove any non-free copyrighted content and attributing free content correctly, or flagging the content for deletion. Please be sure that the supposed source of the copyright violation is not itself a Wikipedia mirror. (February 2016) |
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), located in Entebbe, Uganda, was established in 1936 as the Yellow Fever Research Institute by the Rockefeller Foundation. It was there that in 1947 scientists researching yellow fever placed a rhesus macaque in a cage in the Zika Forest. The monkey developed a fever, and researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that was first described as Zika virus in 1952.[1] In 1950, after gaining regional recognition, the Institute was renamed as the East African Virus Research Institute.
Organisation[edit]
After the collapse of the East African Community in 1977, it became a Ugandan government public health research institution and was renamed the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The government of Uganda administers and funds the UVRI through the Uganda National Health Research Organization, which is an umbrella research body within the Uganda Ministry of Health.
The mission of UVRI is to carry out scientific research concerning communicable diseases, especially viral diseases of public health importance, and to advise the government on strategies for control and prevention. It consists of three buildings.
UVRI also plays a large role in coordinating and administering virology related clinical trials within the country. Most recently, UVRI has been involved in human HIV vaccine clinical trials. The HIV/AIDS Reference and Quality Assurance Laboratory, which is part of UVRI, plays an important role in making public policy recommendations to the Uganda National Drug Authority on the access and usage of new drugs and medical technologies.
UVRI maintains a field station at the Zika Forest near Entebbe.[2]
Further reading[edit]
- Sempala, Sylvester D. K. (3 July 2002). Institute Profile: The Uganda Virus Research Institute., Trends Microbiol. 2002 Jul;10(7):346-8. PMID 12110215
References[edit]
- ^ Dick, G. W. A.; Kitchen, S. F.; Haddow, A. J. (1952-09-01). "Zika virus. I. Isolations and serological specificity". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 46 (5): 509–520. doi:10.1016/0035-9203(52)90042-4. PMID 12995440
- ^ Kaddumukasa M. A., Mutebi J. P., Lutwama J. J., Masembe C., Akol A. M. "Mosquitoes of Zika Forest, Uganda: Species Composition and Relative Abundance". J Med Entomol. 2014 Jan;51(1):104-13. PMID 24605459. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
External links[edit]
- UVRI/MRC official webpage
- Uganda Ministry of Health: UVRI
- Programme Collaborators, DFID Knowledge Programme on HIV/AIDS and STI.
