Report of the 1st African Enteric Viruses Genome Initiative (AEVGI) Data and Bioinformatics Workshop on whole-genome analysis of some African rotavirus strains held in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Martin M Nyaga; Saheed Sabiu; Valantine N Ndze; Francis E Dennis; Khuzwayo C Jere

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.010

Report of the 1st African Enteric Viruses Genome Initiative (AEVGI) Data and Bioinformatics Workshop on whole-genome analysis of some African rotavirus strains held in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Vaccine. 2020 Jul 22;38(34):5402-5407. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.010. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Authors

Martin M Nyaga¹, Saheed Sabiu², Valantine N Ndze³, Francis E Dennis⁴, Khuzwayo C Jere⁵

Affiliations

¹ Next Generation Sequencing Unit, Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Electronic address: NyagaMM@ufs.ac.za.
² Biotechnology and Food Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon; USAID-IDDS Project Cameroon, ASLM, Cameroon.
⁴ Department of Electron Microscopy and Histopathology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
⁵ Centre for Global Vaccine Research, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Ronald Ross Building, 8 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L69 7BE, UK; Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme/Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.

PMID: 32561119
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.010

Abstract

The University of the Free State - Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Unit, Bloemfontein, South Africa, hosted a data and bioinformatics workshop from 19 to 22 June 2018. The workshop was coordinated by the African Enteric Viruses Genome Initiative (AEVGI) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event introduced technologies in NGS and data analysis with focus on the rotavirus (RV) genome. The workshop fostered interactions and networking between professionals, scientific experts, technicians and students. The courses provided an overview of RV diarrhoea and its burden in Africa, while highlighting the key resources and methodologies in NGS and advanced bioinformatics in deciphering vaccine impact. It was concluded that, despite the reported significant decline in RV associated-diarrhoea mortality and morbidity in Africa due to RV vaccine impact, the need for continuous surveillance and genomic characterization to better understand the ever-changing dynamics of RV strains is imperative.

Keywords: Africa; Bioinformatics; Diarrhoea; Rotavirus; Vaccine; Whole genome sequencing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Computational Biology
Humans
Rotavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Rotavirus Vaccines*
Rotavirus* / genetics
South Africa / epidemiology

Substances

Rotavirus Vaccines

Grants and funding

201945/Z/16/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom