The University of the West Indies (UWI) - Zika

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The University of the West Indies (UWI)

uwiThe University of the West Indies (UWI) is a regional institution serving diverse communities across the Caribbean (Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and others).

Since 2002 UWI has established the Jamaica, Pediatric and Perinatal Adolescent HIV/AIDS Program (JaPPAAIDS) in collaboration with the Jamaican Ministry of Health, a program with a multidisciplinary team approach to the management of HIV in pregnancy and in childhood.

A ZIKA Task Force was launched by the UWI in February 2016, bringing together a range of expertise in areas of vector control, environmental health, epidemiological surveillance, clinical research, laboratory assay development, economic impact analysis, education, grant resource mobilization and communication.

The UWI’s Virology laboratory was involved in the testing of samples since beginning of the ZIka Virus Surveillance in Jamaica (May 2015) and in the development of Zika Virus testing methods. The Zika Research Working Group for Jamaica is a multi-agency, multidisciplinary group which was formed in 2015, with activities including the drafting of studies for surveillance for ZIKA V in pregnancy and pediatric outcomes; the crafting of baseline data extraction instruments; retrospective studies to establish the baseline rates of microcephaly; leading of educational conferences and activities, in collaboration with partners such as PAHO/WHO.

Mainly involved in WP1.

Go to web site.