Three years after its launch, AFROSCREEN is fulfilling all its objectives by developing effective genomic surveillance to tackle epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.
Three years after its launch, AFROSCREEN is fulfilling all its objectives by developing effective genomic surveillance to tackle epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.
The AFROSCREEN project, financed to the tune of €10 million by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), has been working since 2021 to set up or strengthen sequencing platforms and build an operational network for monitoring emerging pathogens in West and Central Africa and Madagascar. With 25 partners in 13 sub-Saharan African countries, AFROSCREEN will improve the detection, characterization and genomic surveillance of emerging pathogens for epidemic preparedness and response. The AFROSCREEN project, coordinated by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases, an autonomous agency of Inserm, as part of a consortium with Institut Pasteur and Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), was launched in July 2021 to respond to the Covid-19 epidemic.
The results will be presented at the AFROSCREEN regional symposium on May 29 and 30, 2024 in Dakar, Senegal, in the presence of all scientific, technical and financial partners, as well as CDC Africa and WHO.
Genomic sequencing, a public health tool
Today, genomic sequencing is an essential public health tool for detecting and monitoring infectious pathogens with epidemic potential. A better understanding of the genome of pathogens and their genetic evolution enables the production of diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, leading to better control of epidemics at both local and international levels.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the disparities between continents in terms of surveillance and sequencing systems. At the end of October 2021, of the 4.6 million sequences shared on the free, public GISAID1 tool worldwide, only 49,000 came from the African continent, representing less than 1% of Covid-19 cases diagnosed on this continent.
With this in mind, AFROSCREEN was designed to improve preparedness and response activities at regional level, support decision-makers in defining public health priorities in each of the partner countries, and produce data to feed into the international public health effort.
AFROSCREEN regional symposium: review and prospects for the African genomic surveillance network
On May 29 and 30, 2024, the “AFROSCREEN regional symposium: a genomic surveillance network for emerging pathogens” will be held in Dakar, Senegal. The event will bring together partners, representatives of CDC Africa and WHO, health authorities from the countries concerned, and international funding agencies. The aim of the symposium is to take stock of the project’s scientific and technical achievements, and to discuss future prospects for capitalizing on this network.
Three years after its launch, the AFROSCREEN project has made it possible to :
- improve the SARS-CoV-2 detection and sequencing capacities of the 21 laboratories in the network by providing equipment (sequencers, reagents, laboratory materials). Capacity-building in these laboratories has contributed to an increase in the number of sequences deposited on GISAID by countries (around 10,000 sequences deposited); Le renforcement des capacités des laboratoires a ainsi contribué à l’augmentation du nombre de séquences déposées sur GISAID par les pays (environ 10 000 séquences déposées) ;
- former plus de 150 personnes en charge du séquençage, de l’analyse et du partage des données, parmi lesquelles des biologistes, techniciens, data managers, bio-informaticiens et personnels en charge de la surveillance et des investigations épidémiologiques ;
- créer et animer le réseau des laboratoires partenaires d’AFROSCREEN composé de 25 partenaires répartis dans 13 pays d’Afrique ;
- mettre en place, réactiver ou soutenir 77 sites sentinelles dans 11 pays pour la réalisation d’enquêtes épidémiologiques et de collectes d’échantillons ainsi que pour la surveillance du SARS-CoV-2 et de ses variants.
Ce réseau est désormais mobilisable rapidement en cas d’émergence ou de réémergence de pathogènes à fort potentiel épidémique au-delà du SARS-CoV-2 : grippe, Mpox, dengue, Lassa, chikungunya, Marburg, etc.
The AFROSCREEN project, financed to the tune of €10 million by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), has been working since 2021 to set up or strengthen sequencing platforms and build an operational network for monitoring emerging pathogens in West and Central Africa and Madagascar. With 25 partners in 13 sub-Saharan African countries, AFROSCREEN will improve the detection, characterization and genomic surveillance of emerging pathogens for epidemic preparedness and response. The AFROSCREEN project, coordinated by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases, an autonomous agency of Inserm, as part of a consortium with Institut Pasteur and Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), was launched in July 2021 to respond to the Covid-19 epidemic.
The results will be presented at the AFROSCREEN regional symposium on May 29 and 30, 2024 in Dakar, Senegal, in the presence of all scientific, technical and financial partners, as well as CDC Africa and WHO.
Genomic sequencing, a public health tool
Today, genomic sequencing is an essential public health tool for detecting and monitoring infectious pathogens with epidemic potential. A better understanding of the genome of pathogens and their genetic evolution enables the production of diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, leading to better control of epidemics at both local and international levels.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the disparities between continents in terms of surveillance and sequencing systems. At the end of October 2021, of the 4.6 million sequences shared on the free, public GISAID1 tool worldwide, only 49,000 came from the African continent, representing less than 1% of Covid-19 cases diagnosed on this continent.
With this in mind, AFROSCREEN was designed to improve preparedness and response activities at regional level, support decision-makers in defining public health priorities in each of the partner countries, and produce data to feed into the international public health effort.
AFROSCREEN regional symposium: review and prospects for the African genomic surveillance network
On May 29 and 30, 2024, the “AFROSCREEN regional symposium: a genomic surveillance network for emerging pathogens” will be held in Dakar, Senegal. The event will bring together partners, representatives of CDC Africa and WHO, health authorities from the countries concerned, and international funding agencies. The aim of the symposium is to take stock of the project’s scientific and technical achievements, and to discuss future prospects for capitalizing on this network.
Three years after its launch, the AFROSCREEN project has made it possible to :
- improve the SARS-CoV-2 detection and sequencing capacities of the 21 laboratories in the network by providing equipment (sequencers, reagents, laboratory materials). Capacity-building in these laboratories has contributed to an increase in the number of sequences deposited on GISAID by countries (around 10,000 sequences deposited); Le renforcement des capacités des laboratoires a ainsi contribué à l’augmentation du nombre de séquences déposées sur GISAID par les pays (environ 10 000 séquences déposées) ;
- former plus de 150 personnes en charge du séquençage, de l’analyse et du partage des données, parmi lesquelles des biologistes, techniciens, data managers, bio-informaticiens et personnels en charge de la surveillance et des investigations épidémiologiques ;
- créer et animer le réseau des laboratoires partenaires d’AFROSCREEN composé de 25 partenaires répartis dans 13 pays d’Afrique ;
- mettre en place, réactiver ou soutenir 77 sites sentinelles dans 11 pays pour la réalisation d’enquêtes épidémiologiques et de collectes d’échantillons ainsi que pour la surveillance du SARS-CoV-2 et de ses variants.
Ce réseau est désormais mobilisable rapidement en cas d’émergence ou de réémergence de pathogènes à fort potentiel épidémique au-delà du SARS-CoV-2 : grippe, Mpox, dengue, Lassa, chikungunya, Marburg, etc.