Africa Medical and Behavioral Sciences Organization
From 10th-14th October 2025, AMBSO hosted Dr. Ralph Huits, an infectious diseases expert from Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar, Verona, Italy. Dr. Ralph specializes in arboviral infections and has been key in building AMBSO’s basic science capabilities.
AMBSO and Sacro Cuore with funding support from Takeda are currently implementing a basic science project titled ‘‘Sero-epidemiology of dengue and socio-demographic factors associated with sero-positivity in Wakiso and Hoima districts, Uganda, 2018-2024 a longitudinal cohort study’’. The study aims to determine dengue and arbovirus sero-prevalence and sero-conversion rates and identify socio-demographic factors associated with sero-positivity.
The purpose of Dr. Ralph’s visit was to have a hands-on experience of the AMBSO Population Health Surveillance (APHS) cohort activities in Wakiso and Hoima Districts, and to strengthen collaborative ties between AMBSO and Sacro Cuore.
During the visit, Dr. Ralph, together with the AMBSO team, paid a courtesy visit to UVRI, where they were received by Dr. Ponsiano Kaleebu, the Director of UVRI. The engagement was highly productive and paved the way to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AMBSO and UVRI, aimed at enhancing future collaborative research and capacity building in infectious disease surveillance and control.
