Virology & Immunology Research Centres
Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), located in Entebbe, Uganda, was established in 1936 as the Yellow Fever Research Institute. The mission of the institute is to carry out scientific research concerning communicable diseases, especially viral diseases of public health importance and to advise the government on strategies for control and prevention.
The institute also plays a large role in coordinating and administering virology related clinical trials within the country. Most recently the institute has been involved in human HIV vaccine clinical trials. The HIV/AIDS Reference and Quality Assurance Laboratory (HRL), which is part of the institute plays an important role in making public policy recommendations to the Uganda National Drug Authority on the access and usage of new drugs and medical technologies. The institute was the first to isolate more than 20 new arboviruses, including West Nile Virus, Bwamba Fever, Semliki Forest Virus, Orungo, Kadam, and O'nyong'nyong.
National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD)
The NICD came into being in January 2002 following on the restructuring of the public sector medical laboratory services of South Africa and the creation of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) from the previous South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR) together with various governmental and provincial laboratories. The previous National Institute for Virology (NIV) has, in effect, now been replaced by the NICD and has been supplemented by the addition of microbiology, parasitology and entomology laboratories from the former SAIMR to create a comprehensive public health communicable diseases institution.
