Lao – Lux lab / Vaccine preventable diseases 2024
Head of Laboratory: To be hired
The Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Laboratory (LaoLuxLab) aims to strengthen the capacity for investigations of infectious diseases that are of relevance to Laos. It is a joint laboratory, consisting of team members at the Institut Pasteur du Laos and the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Since 2011, the group has been conducting research on infectious diseases in Laos with the following objectives:
• To investigate the epidemiology of infectious diseases in humans and animals, with a focus on vaccine-preventable diseases.
• To provide health officials with the scientific evidence required for their decisions to improve human and animal health.
• To evaluate and strengthen current disease prevention and control measures, including vaccination programs
• To build qualitative and sustainable laboratory capacity.
The results and recommendations of the studies are communicated to stakeholders and partners in the form of written and oral reports and policy briefs.
Executive summary
The LaoLuxLab / Vaccine-Preventable Diseases laboratory was established in 2011, under the guidance of the Clinical and Applied Virology group at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, in the framework of the “Luxembourg-Laos Partnership for Research and Capacity Building in Infectious Disease Surveillance (PaReCIDS)”. The primary objective of PaReCIDS is to engage in scientific investigations concerning health-related issues caused by infectious diseases in Laos within the context of sustainable development. Since 2018, PaReCIDS has been managed by Dr Judith Hübschen, Principal Investigator of the Clinical and Applied Virology group.
All studies conducted by the laboratory are designed and executed in close collaboration with local partners and focus mainly on the molecular epidemiology and seroprevalence of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, as well as animal and zoonotic diseases. In the course of the past three years, we shifted from conducting smaller, disease-specific studies to adopting a more integrated approach to better address the needs of the country. This involved employing advanced study designs to create versatile sample cohorts. By focusing our efforts on fewer but more substantial studies, we can better allocate resources, enabling larger-scale and more impactful research. This strategic shift not only enhances efficiency and collaboration within the research environment but also offers valuable opportunities for staff training and new experiences.
Our studies are of importance for stakeholders in public health by providing information about the burden of specific infections, by promoting outbreak control and vaccination programs, by improving health and productivity and by proposing measures to optimize national health strategies. Our results and evidence-based recommendations are communicated to stakeholders and partners in the form of written and oral reports and policy briefs. In this year’s report, we present the research activities and capacity-strengthening initiatives conducted in 2024.
Among our ongoing research projects, we want to highlight the progress in two of our major studies, headed by Lao scientists:
We continued our long-standing partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Center, operated by the Lao Red Cross, and launched a follow-up project, focusing on hepatitis B virus prevalence in blood donors. For this project, the collection of 6300 samples from all 18 provinces is nearly completed.
For another project, laboratory members under the supervision of Dr Virachith visited several provincial hospitals to implement a study focusing on maternal and neonatal vaccination protection. The sample collection with the target of 1600 mother and child pairs was successfully concluded this year and the laboratory analyses are expected to start in January 2025.
In addition to several ongoing projects, two new studies were implemented in 2024:
Mrs. Diaz, PhD student in the Clinical and Applied Virology group, joined the laboratory during two research visits for several months. Supported by local staff, she implemented a large research study looking at reasons for hospitalization in children under five years, in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital in Vientiane. Since January this year, more than 1100 children have been enrolled in this study.
Finally, a study focusing on the causes of acute hepatitis in Laos was initiated at two Central hospitals in Vientiane. Even though especially viral hepatitis constitutes a public health problem in Laos, the epidemiology of hepatitis is not well understood. The investigation of the causal contributions to jaundice/hepatitis may aid the improvement of diagnostic capabilities within the country and inform public health policymakers in Laos.
Throughout the year, numerous training opportunities were provided to the members of the LaoLuxLab / Vaccine-Preventable Diseases laboratory to enhance their expertise and skill set (for details, please see below).
Notable, Dr Khounvisith, a PhD student in the laboratory, spent the spring semester at the University in Basel, focusing on project management, data analysis in epidemiology and Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS). She is currently working on her PhD project focusing on the relationship between infectious diseases and water, sanitation and hygiene levels in rural communities in Laos. Dr Virachith attended a workshop focusing on “Regional Trials for Epidemic Preparedness & Response” organized by the PREPARE – Programme for research in epidemic preparedness and response in Singapore.
Team:
Scientist
Dr. Siriphone Virachith, MD, PhD
Junior scientist, PhD student
Dr. Vilaysone Khounvisith, MD
Research engineer
Mr. Chomseng Norkhankham
Laboratory technicians
Mrs. Nouna Innoula
Mrs. Bounta Vongphachanh
Mrs. Latdavone Khenkha
Consultant, National Immunization Program Laos
Dr. Phonethipsavanh Nouanthong, MD
Project coordinator, LIH
Dr. Judith Hübschen, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow, visiting scientist, LIH
Dr. Lisa Hefele, PhD
PhD student, visiting, LIH
Mrs. Andrea Diaz
Visiting consultant, former head of lab
Dr. Antony Black
Project carried on in the lab:
+ Investigating hepatitis B virus infection in Lao blood donors: Genotype patterns, occult infection.
+ Maternal and neonatal vaccination protection in the Lao PDR.
+ The relationship between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) levels and infectious diseases, Khammouane province, Lao PDR.
+ Reasons for hospitalization in children under five.
+ The infective causes of acute hepatitis and jaundice amongst hospital patients.
+ Challenges to hepatitis C virus testing and treatment in a rural setting of Lao People’s Democratic Republic.