June 2007 Report
Summary:
Albeit marking the end of the peak malaria season, June turned out to be a brisk month, with busy activities on the scientific, educational as well as the construction fronts.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture work continued apace in the new state-of-the-art clinical research laboratory. The molecular laboratory was a bustle of activity with genotyping of Plasmodium falciparum in human and mosquito infections to better understand biological fitness cost to dug-resistant malaria.
Data entry, processing and analysis were being carried out in order to finalize the scientific work that was submitted with four abstracts for the malaria conference.
While one Hopkins M Sc student concluded a laboratory project and departed for the USA, another graduate student from Hopkins arrived, to help with molecular research. A group of Messiah College students concluded their Tropical Medicine instruction under Dr. Thuma and two remained to help with various laboratory assays.
Staff house "C" construction was completed and senior MIAM technical staff prepared to occupy their campus accommodation.
I - General Site Development and Maintenance
As the cool dry spell beginning from May became established in June, site upkeep was low-level and mainly confined to maintenance of flowers, vegetables and the new volley ball weekend sport facility.
There were substantial electricity outages on the national grid, often for extended periods. On one occasion, fuel for the generator ran out, putting the back-up power system to the test, as there was also concurrent diesel shortage in the country. However, due to persistent efforts of the Transport and Maintenance Manager, three diesel barrels were soon sourced from Choma, restoring the normal back-up cycle. The national grid power supply subsequently stabilized in the latter part of the month.
Water outage was avoided, albeit only with careful planning, since the single borehole is over-stretched by the rapidly growing domestic use and construction activities. This problem should be rectified once a second bore hole has been installed.
II - Construction of Buildings
Staff House "C", constructed with USAID funding, was completed and by the end of June, senior MIAM technical staff, including the resident Entomologist (Musapa Mulenga), Laboratory Technologist (Jay Sikalima) and Laboratory Scientist (Mtawa Mkulama), were preparing to move in and occupy campus accommodation. Bricklaying on Staff House "D" was proceeding swiftly and nearing window level. Some of the internal door frames had already been mounted, while another four ordered from Lusaka would be installed once they had been hauled in.
The dormitory and kitchen/dining site continued to transform remarkably, as the emerging facilities began to reveal a commanding presence. Roofing on the dormitory and kitchen/dining structures was completed. For the dormitory wing, internal plastering and electric fitments were in progress, while external rendering had already been completed, making way for plumbing. On the kitchen/dining wing, internal plastering was completed by the end of the month and electric wiring was almost finished. Plumbing had been installed, while preparations for the ceiling were under way. Septic tank excavation for the entire complex was almost complete.
III - Information Technology
Throughout June there was steady internet connectivity since the restoration of the main C-band VSAT the previous month. Minor wireless problems were being experienced in the laboratory area.
Following installation of a UPS by the new MIAM Information Technologist, the Lasergene software suite server was working properly throughout the month of June. This showed that the previous problems on this server were primarily caused by national grid power outages in the absence of UPS protection.
IV - Vehicles/Transport
Vehicle use remained considerable, mostly on the Epi and the reconnaissance studies by Drs Moss/Shah and Dr. Shiff, respectively. Throughout June the Pajero was in Lusaka for repairs on the fuel system.
V - Research Activities
Entomology: As the low temperatures of the cool dry season set in, Anopheline populations plummeted, marking the end of the peak transmission season. Entomolgical fields collections were thus largely scaled down. Colony rearing was also modest and the automated dimming system was being acquired in preparation for full-scale production in next rainy season.
Epidemiology and GIS: Field data collection on the Epidemiology Pilot study by Drs Moss/Shah, continued to progress well. The web-based data entry was held off to allow functionality of the system to be better optimized. Preparations were made to capture the accumulating wealth of research information using EPI-INFO installed on MIAM data entry computers. Two field workers on the EPI study passed their road tests and acquired motor cycle driving lessons. Mr. Gift Moono also received his from the same session.
Molecular Biology: Laboratory work continued apace during the month of June. Simultaneous data capture and analysis were carried out for the work on biological fitness for drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, standardizing P. falciparum genotyping, and optimizing simplified mosquito DNA extraction methodology. PCR procedures for genotyping of sporogonic P. falciparum were successfully optimized to eliminate PCR inhibitors. Following pressure on reagents due to the volume of work, replenishment stocks that were ordered arrived during the month, enabling the rapid pace of work to be sustained.
Petrica Rouse, a Hopkins M Sc student who had been working on a laboratory project completed her assays and data entry before proceeding back to the USA. A Hopkins graduate student, Brian Kalish, arrived at Macha on June 28, and would be helping in the lab for 6 weeks. Two college students (Sarah Babcock and Jennifer Emberger), one of them from a class learning tropical medicine under Dr. Thuma, remained at Macha to also assist in the lab.
One of the thermal blocks for the ThermoElectron MBS PCR system developed a fault code requiring service by an authorized dealer for the manufacturer. Plans were made to send the unit back to the USA for repair.
Tuberculosis Studies: In the new Clinical Research lab TB culture work continued in preparation for the newly approved TB multi-centre trial, under the leadership of Dr Janneke van Dijk. Two Dutch medical students continued to help with the lab work, together with Mutinta Kalambo and MIAM Lab Technologist Jay Sikalima.
Schistosomiasis Studies: The new snail colony continued to propagate, with snails laying eggs almost daily. Plans were in place to commence infection experiments and subsequent collections of cercariae.