Annual Report 2006

Director’s report

The lecture theatre was named “The James H S Gear Auditorium” to honour the memory of one of the great pioneers of infectious diseases in this country and the Institute's first Director [1953-1976]. One of the flagship training courses which commenced in the academic year 2007 is the South African Field and Epidemiology Laboratory Training Programme [SAFELTP] described in detail in the report. An especially valuable benefit of this course will be the establishment of a network of alumni who will function as field epidemiologists and field laboratory personnel in the future. The training centre will, in addition, provide a facility for many of the national and international training courses which the NICD takes responsibility for.

Other major developments which have materialised during 2006/2007 include approval by the CEO of the National Health Laboratory Service [NHLS] and its Board for major funding for the construction and equipping of a National TB Reference Centre. Funding was also received for this programme from the National Department of Health. Construction of the Centre, which is under the directorship of Dr Gerrit Coetzee, is due to commence in the second half of 2007.

The upgrading and modernization of the maximum security BSL-4 laboratory which had to be temporarily closed down, is expected to be completed and the laboratories re-commissioned during 2007. The Board has also approved the purchase of an electron microscope, which is due to be installed in the latter part of 2007. This instrument will be a particularly valuable diagnostic addition to the NICD.

The NICD will formally become a member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes [IANPHI] in May 2007. The Association, which was launched in January 2006 consists of some 50 National Public Health Institutes throughout the world. Its aim is to establish a collaborative network to facilitate scientific exchange and to assist under-resourced Institutes achieve their optimal potential. The NICD has conducted a number of outreach programmes to countries on the African continent by serving as a WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for a number of viral and bacterial infections, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Haemorrhagic Fevers, and supplying reagents and EQA panels widely to African countries in addition to its extensive training commitments.

The enabling support which NICD enjoys comes from a number of sources and is gratefully acknowledged. In particular, the invaluable support received from our parent body, the National Health Laboratory Service and also the National Department of Health. Significant research funding, in addition to the financing of the PRF training centre, has come from the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, as well as support received from the South African Medical Research Council, the National Research Foundation and other national bodies. The NICD has received extensive and invaluable international support particularly from the Centers for Disease Control, USA and the World health Organization as well as from a number of research funding bodies such as the National Institutes of Health (USA), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA), Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida (France), Wellcome Foundation (UK), European Union, Sweden-South Africa Bilateral and Smittskyddinstitutet (Sweden) and a number of other national and international sources. This support has been of immense value to NICD as is detailed in the pages of this report.