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CDC/KEMRI 30th Anniversary, 1979-2009

CDC/KEMRI Field Research Station: Malaria

Kenya Institute of Medical Research (KEMRI), Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), located outside Kisumu, Kenya. (Courtesy KEMRI)

Thirty years ago, a medical officer from CDC’s Bureau of Tropical Diseases (now CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases) arrived in Nairobi to start a research station. He was assigned to the newly created Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The CDC/KEMRI Field Research Station began its life with a focus on malaria prevention, treatment, and control, initially monitoring antimalarial resistance. Collaborative partnerships were soon developed with local institutions—University of Nairobi, Kenyan Ministry of Health, the UK Wellcome Trust Laboratories, US Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the Royal Dutch Tropical Institute.

In its 30 years, the Field Research Station has conducted studies on a broad range of research topics—from monitoring the malaria parasite’s resistance to the widely used antimalarial chloroquine to participating in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the most promising malaria vaccine to date, RTS,S.

Young child in Kenya sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net (ITN). One of CDC/KEMRI’s studies showed that use of ITN decreased all-cause mortality in children < 5 years by about 20%. (Courtesy: KEMRI)

CDC/KEMRI’s contribution to knowledge of malaria and malaria interventions has helped define and evaluate interventions currently used by malaria programs: insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), case management with artemisinin-containing combination treatment (ACTs), and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp). For example, the station completed one of the first studies to demonstrate that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) could reduce malaria-related illness and death in an area of very intense, year-round malaria transmission. Prior to these findings, all of the evidence of bed net efficacy in Africa had been collected in settings where transmission was only moderate or exclusively seasonal.

To see a timeline of malaria research, click here (Text Only Version).

An Evolving Collaboration

The Field Research Station has evolved into the KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration. Its mission is to promote public health in Kenya and East Africa through collaborative research, training, control and prevention activities. Although malaria remains a top priority, HIV research and HIV prevention and care program activities are also now a primary focus. In 2002, CDC established an International Emerging Infections Program in Kenya, followed by a Global Disease Detection Regional Center in 2004, which integrated emerging infectious diseases, field epidemiology and laboratory training, and influenza activities for the country and the region. CDC’s collaboration has grown to six distinct programs and more than 80 public and private partners.

With this collaboration, KEMRI and CDC are making important contributions to global health, preparing for and conducting field trials to evaluate promising new interventions such as vaccines and providing a platform for evaluating public health tools to assess their impact on reducing the burden of disease among vulnerable groups.

The 30th Celebration in Kenya

A celebration in Nairobi (November 6) and in Kisumu (November 7) focused on the history and achievements of 30 years of building a research and program platform through scientific oral presentations, posters, and tours of KEMRI/CDC activities.

Attending the event: Local community members including chiefs and teachers, Atlanta-based and Kenya CDC staff, Kenya Ministry of Health/KEMRI staff, and partners including the Gates Foundation, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), US National Institutes of Health, UNICEF, CDC Foundation, U.S. Embassy, U.S. Agency for International Development, and others.