CERI & KRISP Newsletter Nov/Dec Special Edition: Climate Change and Epidemics 2023


In this special edition of the CERI/KRISP newsletter, we highlight the activities of the Climate Amplified Diseases and Epidemics (CLIMADE) consortium over the past year. On page 2, we feature our participation in the upcoming COP28 meeting in Dubai for the release of the Climate Change and Epidemics 2023 report.

On page 3, we feature the opinion piece in Science that debates whether climate change will amplify epidemics. The CLIMADE consortium have been actively responding to epidemics in real-time by sequencing pathogens from the recent outbreaks of chikungunya in Paraguay (page 4), cholera in Malawi (Page 5), cholera in Haiti (Page 6), Yellow Fever Virus in Brazil (Page 7), and Dengue in Senegal (Page 8).

On Page 9 we highlight the recent grant award to study human migrations due to climate change and their impact on arboviral disease transmission in Africa.

News articles highlighting the CLIMADE Consortium activities are featured on page 10 and 11. On page 12, we detail the recent contributions of the CLIMADE Consortium to conferences on climate change in Botswana and Namibia and the ConsortiumÂ’s contributions to capacity development on page 13.

Download our newsletter in PDF format.

This issue's highlights are:

- Award: Climate Change and Epidemics 2023 Report released at COP28

- Feature: Women's Month Celebration: Building capacity of the next generation of women scientists

- Publication: Will climate change amplify epidemics and give rise to pandemics? Science 2023

- Publication: Chikungunya Virus Resurgence Sparks Concern in Paraguay as Global Warming Increase Temperature. IED 2023

- Publication: Genomic epidemiology of the cholera outbreak in Malawi 2022-2023. medRXiV 2023

- People: Cholera emerge from the environment to cause explosive epidemic in Haiti. IED 2023

- Publication: : Genomic epidemiology unveils the dynamics and spatial corridor behind the Yellow Fever virus outbreak in Southern Brazil. Science Advances 2023

- News: CLIMADE Surveillance of dengue fever, arboviruses and infectious diseases in West-Africa, IRESSEF, Senegal

- Grant: Human Migrations and Climate Change Grant to CERI and Oxford University

- News: Virus Hunters Search for Diseases Supercharged by Climate Change

- News: Scientists warn climate change will increase the spread of infectious diseases

- News: CLIMADE engages with researchers and public health officials in Botswana and Namibia

- Feature: Capacity development in Africa

- Feature: Abbott And New Global Consortium Partnership Tackle Viral Outbreaks Caused By Climate Change

We hope you enjoy it and find it informative. We welcome any feedback about content or format.

The concept behind this newsletter is that anyone with 15 minutes to spare can learn about the work of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), which is hosted at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa

CERI and KRISP want to challenge the status quo and create a scientific environment in South Africa that drives innovations in global health and reverses the brain drain. The way we challenge the status quo is by attracting, training and retaining both top (South) African scientists that understand the problem from the ground level and the best international minds that are committed to our visionÂ…

News date: 2023-12-01

Links:

https://krisp.org.za/manuscripts/CERI_KRISPnewsletter_SpecialeditionCOP28.pdf


KRISP has been created by the coordinated effort of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the South African Medical Research Countil (SAMRC).


Location: K-RITH Tower Building
Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN
719 Umbilo Road, Durban, South Africa.
Director: Prof. Tulio de Oliveira