Category: News

Dengue and Zika viruses are arboviruses primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Dengue and Zika infectious disease frequently erupt in tropical and subtropical regions. Globalization coupled with climate change, significantly expedites their worldwide dissemination, often sparking new epidemics.

WHO reported the highest number of dengue cases (~6.5 million in 2023) in over 80 countries with 7300 dengue-related deaths. Burkina Faso and Mali have been reported to be among 8 countries with active cases in 2023, while Burkina Faso accounted for about 74% of total numbers of cases. Tanzania’s first confirmed Dengue outbreak occurred in 2010 in Dar es Salaam, since then, several outbreaks have occurred. Furthermore, first confirmed cases of Zika in Tanzania were reported in 2016 and in 2022. Incidence of dengue and Zika fever often spikes in rainy seasons mostly in urban settings.

Understanding how dengue and Zika viruses interact and affect individuals and populations is crucial for disease management and prevention, given their frequent co-circulation and potential for compounded clinical outcomes. The interplay between these viruses can complicate clinical picture, potentially leading to atypical or severe disease presentations.

Identifying and analyzing drivers of dengue and Zika virus spread in regions lacking sufficient epidemiological, immunological, and entomological data is critical for effective surveillance and control. Variations of these infections transmission in the three countries provides a unique opportunity to investigate genetic diversity of vectors and viruses, immunology and molecular interplay influences clinical outcome and co-circulation.

A consortium composed by University of Sciences, Technologies and Techniques of Bamako (USTTB, Mali), Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso,  University of Bordeaux (France), and Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK, Italy) as Project Partners and managed by R-Evolution Worldwide as Project Coordinator has successfully submitted a proposal in the field of Digital Health for the HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2024-01-06-two-stage Call.

The project name is “LINKAGE: InteroperabLe combination of existing dIgital solutions to improve the deliveriNg of Key healthcare services, nAtional control proGrams for vulnerablE populations of Mali and Burkina Faso”.

The project’s major ambition is the improvement of Antenatal Care services (ANC) in Mali and Burkina Faso through making interoperable with each other already existing open-source digital platforms: BOGOU, DHIS2 and TreC Mamma. It will greatly improve health outcomes by enhancing accessibility to ANC information at different levels and to different stakeholders such as health professionals, mothers, policy makers and researchers.

By integrating strengths and key functionalities from existing platforms and adopting a structured business intelligence approach, the project will support the scaling-up of new digital technologies in public health interventions, serving as drivers for the strengthening of health systems in SSA. By enabling the efficient exchange of information and promoting collaboration among stakeholders, the digital solution approach of the project can help streamline processes, improve healthcare delivery, and ultimately contribute to the overall improvement of healthcare systems in the region.

Indeed, the envisioned approach will be explored to benefit other potential countries and the scaling-up in other regions of SSA as well.

The increasing urbanization in Africa, paralleled by inadequate environmental sanitation, significantly contributes to the proliferation of Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit many arboviruses, including dengue virus (DENV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV).

In  2023, a total of 70 223 cases of dengue and 753 deaths have been reported from 15 African countries. Burkina Faso continues to be the country most impacted, accounting for 85% of reported cases and 91% of recorded fatalities. In 2023 Mali experienced simultaneous outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya infections.

The VectorEnd project promotes  an integrated vector control approach to mitigate the burden of dengue and chikungunya, in urban areas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Tanzania with high incidences of these diseases.

This initiative marks the first comprehensive trial in African urban settings to assess the combined effect of mass trapping, larval source management, and community engagement on controlling Aedes mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit.