{"id":212784,"date":"2022-06-16T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T09:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=212784"},"modified":"2023-11-09T20:30:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T01:30:42","slug":"professors-receive-3-3m-nih-grant-to-study-covid-19-transmission-immunity-in-malawi","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2022\/professors-receive-3-3m-nih-grant-to-study-covid-19-transmission-immunity-in-malawi\/","title":{"rendered":"Professors Receive $3.3M NIH Grant to Study COVID-19 Transmission, Immunity in Malawi"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center has-text-position-y-top\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">covid-19<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProfessors Receive $3.3M NIH Grant to Study COVID-19 Transmission, Immunity in Malawi\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Principal investigators Clarissa Valim and Patricia Hibberd will examine predictors of COVID-19 infection, and explore whether exposure to malaria and chronic malnutrition could determine immunity levels to the virus.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 16, 2022<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2022\/06\/valim-hibbard-600x362-1.png\" alt=\"Clarissa Valim, research associate professor of global health, and Patricia Hibberd, chair and professor of global health\" class=\"wp-image-212939\" width=\"472\" height=\"285\"\/><figcaption>Clarissa Valim, research associate professor of global health, and Patricia Hibberd, chair and professor of global health<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa\u2019s low COVID-19 infection rate and death toll have mystified health experts throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite comprising nearly 20 percent of the world\u2019s population, the continent <a href=\"https:\/\/graphics.reuters.com\/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps\/regions\/africa\/\">has reported<\/a> only 2 percent of global COVID-19 cases and 4 percent of global COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Some have theorized that Africa\u2019s younger population, lack of testing capacity, exposure to other infections, and asymptomatic cases, may contribute to underestimated COVID-19 infection and mortality tolls, but these possibilities remain unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>School of Public Health researchers are seeking to unravel this mystery and gain a better understanding of COVID-19 risk and transmission in Africa, thanks to a $3.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/clarissa-valim\/\">Clarissa Valim<\/a>, research associate professor of global health, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/patricia-hibberd\/\">Patricia Hibberd<\/a>, chair and professor of global health, are principal investigators of the award, which totals $3,338,146 over five years. Valim and Hibberd will study COVID-19 infection and transmission in the southeastern country of Malawi, where only 1.5 percent of the population has received the COVID-19 vaccine. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/davidson-hamer\/\">Davidson Hamer<\/a>, professor of global health at SPH and professor of medicine at the School of Medicine (MED), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/profile\/suryaram-gummuluru\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Suryaram Gummuluru<\/a>, professor of microbiology at MED, are also members of the research team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCOVID-19 was expected to have a devastating impact in sub-Saharan Africa because of overcrowding in cities,&nbsp;poor sanitation and vulnerable healthcare systems,\u201d Valim says.&nbsp;\u201cThe presence of&nbsp;other significant infections such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, combined with undernutrition, was expected to increase the risk of severe infection.&nbsp;However, these predictions do not seem to have materialized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-list alignright sphnews-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>covid-19<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2022\/morgue-data-reveals-true-covid-19-death-toll-in-africa\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Morgue Data Reveal Africa&#8217;s High COVID-19 Death Toll<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">June 14, 2022<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>coronavirus<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2021\/africa-did-not-dodge-covid-zambia-deaths-show\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">COVID-19 in Africa Is Severely Underestimated, Zambia Deaths Show<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">February 17, 2021<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p>For the new study, the researchers will assess innate and acquired immunity to the virus over time, in both vaccinated individuals and those naturally infected with COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team will examine COVID-19 risk and predictors among 1,200 vaccinated and unvaccinated participants in Malawi, ranging from 5 to 75 years old. Focusing on household transmission, they will explore whether innate immune responses lower the risk of COVID-19 infection, and whether these responses are associated with other infections and conditions common in the region, including malaria, chronic malnutrition, and anemia. They will also investigate whether this exposure affects antibody levels in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur study focuses on the high burden of other infections, particularly parasites, in patients with COVID-19,\u201d Valim says. \u201cWe are studying whether repeated exposures to malaria, intestinal parasites, and other pathogens result&nbsp;in long-lasting changes in the innate immune system that facilitate a more rapid and enhanced immune response to COVID-19, and limit progression of symptoms and vaccine-induced immune responses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study results will be compared with COVID-19 data in North America and Australia. The researchers hope their findings will inform cost-effective and efficient vaccination programs and policies in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly to protect high-risk populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we observe lower incidence rates of COVID-19 morbidity in Malawi, lower rates of vaccination might effectively control virus transmission and mortality,\u201d says Valim. \u201cOn the other hand, if susceptible people acquire short-lived immunity after infection or vaccination, booster doses may be needed at shorter intervals.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa\u2019s low COVID-19 infection rate and death toll have mystified health experts throughout the pandemic. Despite comprising nearly 20 percent of the world\u2019s population, the continent has reported only 2 percent of global COVID-19 cases and 4 percent of global COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Some have theorized that Africa\u2019s younger population, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":212939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"covid-19","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[3434,2265,2178,2525,3887],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/212784"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212784"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/212784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213015,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/212784\/revisions\/213015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=212784"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=212784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}