The first laboratory-confirmed case of anthrax in Guinea

Authors

  • Mamadou B Keita Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Jean Ndjomou MRIGlobal
  • Pepe Tohonamou Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Basala Traore Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Sidibe Mamady Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Moussa Keita Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Jean Thea Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Robert Camara Institut National de Santé Publique
  • Abdoulaye Toure Institut National de Santé Publique

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.74

Keywords:

Guinea, Koubia, anthrax, laboratory, diagnostic

Abstract

The prefecture of Koubia in the Labé region of Guinea suffers from permanent threats due to anthrax outbreaks. However, investigations have never benefited from laboratory diagnostic testing of suspicious samples. In this work, we performed laboratory diagnostic testing on samples from the most recent anthrax outbreaks that occurred in February and May of 2019. We report the first evidence of laboratory confirmation of anthrax in Guinea. This work highlights the importance for conducting study to understand the dynamic of anthrax at the human, animal, and environment interface in the prefecture of Koubia.

Author Biography

Jean Ndjomou, MRIGlobal

Dr. Jean Ndjomou is Principal Scientist at MRIGlobal where he is involved in global health surveillance and diagnostics. He has over 15 years of infectious diseases research and diagnostic experience. Before MRIGlobal, he was Research Associate Scientist at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut where he contributed to the engineering of a genetic system to demonstrate that viral helicase serves as motor protein for viral RNA encapsidation. Dr. Ndjomou conducted postgraduate works at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and demonstrated that lymphoid tissues are major HIV reservoirs. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he researched antiviral drugs and discovered a small molecule that inhibits hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase activity and synergizes with viral protease inhibitors to inhibit virus replication. He holds a PhD degree in Microbiology/Virology from the University of Bonn, Germany where he characterized HCV isolates and discovered a unique pattern of high divergence of genotypes 1 and 4 in Cameroon

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Published

2020-06-18

How to Cite

Keita, M. B., Ndjomou, J., Tohonamou, P., Traore, B., Mamady, S., Keita, M. ., … Toure, A. (2020). The first laboratory-confirmed case of anthrax in Guinea. Global Biosecurity, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.74

Issue

Vol. 2 (2020)

Section

Rapid Reports and Perspectives From the Field

License

Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)

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Received 2020-05-31
Accepted 2020-06-03
Published 2020-06-18