Last week’s webinar in our series on” Emerging pathogens” highlighted how scientists in Uganda are working to better understand and control diseases spread by mosquitoes.

The session featured John Kayiwa, a laboratory scientist and manager at the Uganda Virus Research Institute and PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley. He spoke about his experience dealing with disease outbreaks in Uganda, including serious illnesses such as Ebola, Marburg virus disease, yellow fever, influenza, and COVID-19.

He explained how Uganda monitors these diseases before they spread widely. Hospitals and selected health centres regularly send samples from patients who have unexplained fevers. These samples are first tested in the laboratory to check for signs of infection, and if needed, more advanced tests are used to confirm exactly which virus is responsible. The UVRI can also read the genetic “fingerprint” of a virus, helping scientists track where it came from and how it is changing over time.

In addition to testing patients, teams also go into communities to study mosquitoes. They collect different mosquito species and test them to see if they are carrying viruses. This helps scientists understand where infections might be coming from and how they are spreading.

The findings show that mosquito-borne diseases remain an ongoing challenge in Uganda. For example, yellow fever still appears in outbreaks from time to time, even though a vaccine exists to prevent it. One outbreak in 2016 was traced to a strain coming from neighbouring South Sudan, showing how diseases can cross borders easily. Researchers have also detected other mosquito-borne viruses in the country, including chikungunya, dengue, West Nile virus, and evidence of Zika virus.

Kayiwa also talked about another project where he is involved together with the University of Mexico. This collaboration will study diseases like dengue and Zika more closely by testing blood samples, studying mosquito populations, and following groups of people over time. A key focus will be understanding how these infections affect pregnant women and babies.