Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria

ISTH is a referral hospital in an endemic zone for Lassa fever. It was founded in 1993 and serves 19 local governmental areas. Since 2007, new research facilities were established at the Institute of Lassa fever Research and Control (Head: Dr. Asogun) with the support of BNI, Volkswagen Foundation and DFG. State-of-the-art molecular Lassa virus diagnostics is performed on a routine basis. A large Lassa fever ward for appropriate isolation and treatment of patients was commissioned in 2010. The Institute of Lassa fever Research and Control is also running public health programs to increase the awareness and prevent Lassa fever in the communities. Both the laboratory and the new Lassa fever ward are of great benefit for patient management and provide a unique opportunity to study Lassa fever directly in the endemic area.

Dr. Ayodeji Olayemi, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria

OAU is focused on the taxonomy and ecology of mammals from various ecological zones that span Nigeria. The Museum holds a collection of Nigerian mammal and other vertebrate specimens. As part of the university, it is involved in lecturing and supervising postgraduate students in biosystematics and conservation science programs. The Central Science Laboratory at OAU possesses the necessary facilities to carry out molecular analyses. Dr. Ayodeji Olayemi is currently involved in a European Foundation Initiative for African Research into Neglected Tropical diseases (EFINTD) including a mentorship program, where an African and a European mentor (Dr Asogun, ISTH; Dr. Fichet-Calvet, BNI) provide guidance to the candidate during procedures in the field and in the lab. 

Laboratoire des Fièvres Hemorragiques en Guinee (LFHG), Hopital National Donka, Conakry, Guinea

The Laboratoire des Fièvres Hemorragiques en Guinee (LFHG), Hopital National Donka, Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales in Conakry (Head: N’Faly Magassouba, Ph.D.) is an independent unit, which belongs to the Institut National de Santé Publique, Université Gamal Abdel Nasser in Conakry. The LFHG is responsible for the diagnostics of hemorrhagic fevers in Guinea.