Characterization of Febrile Illness-Causing Pathogens Among Children in the Coast and Western Regions of Kenya Using Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing

Victor Tunje Jeza of the Technical University of Mombasa in Kenya will apply metagenomic next generation sequencing to identify the etiology of febrile illness not associated with malaria, chikungunya or dengue in coastal and Western Kenya, to help design more effective interventions for prevention and treatment. Febrile illnesses are caused by diverse pathogens and are common among children in the coastal and western regions, where malaria is also endemic. Standard treatment of febrile patients testing negative for malaria is generally broad-spectrum antibiotics, which may be ineffective and favors the development of drug resistance. They will sequence 350 archived febrile patient serum samples from two previous NIH-funded cohort studies and 100 prospectively collected serum samples to characterize and compare the pathogens causing local febrile illness in the different regions and identify any that are newly emerging or re-emerging.