A master’s researcher from the DRC, he is pursuing his wildlife epidemiology and disease control degree at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (IREC-UCLM) in Spain. As a Congolese researcher at the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles de Lwiro, he specializes in advanced molecular biology techniques to enhance zoonotic disease diagnosis and understand disease dynamics.
Monkey pox virus (MPXV) is a nationally reportable zoonotic disease in Democratic Republic of Congo and has been identified as one of the country’s priority diseases of epidemic potential from bushmeat. This research will be carried out in the two principal bushmeat markets in remote areas of Bunyakiri and Kitutu located in and around two protected areas respectively, Kabuzi-Biega National Park and Itombwe National Reserve. These are both inhabited by endangered great apes, Grauer’s gorillas, and chimpanzees. Sampling will consit tissue samples from bushmeat in the markets and blood samples will be collected from rodents during the trapping. The aim is to determine the prevalence of MPXV from bushmeat in the targeted animal reservoirs. Techniques of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) will used to assess evidence of MPXV infection and other Orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infections in these small mammals and make an epidemiological risk assessment regarding the larger use of wild animals as protein sources.
Key works: Monkey pox, bushmeat, rodents ,remote ares