HerpeZ is a Zambian medical research and capacity development organization founded in 2012 by researchers interested in diagnostics and herpesvirus infections and other neglected causes of morbidity and mortality that affect high disease burden populations across sub-Saharan Africa.
HerpeZ is supported by the EDCTP, UBS Optimus Foundation, Human Herpesvirus 6 Foundation, Thrasher Research Fund and Kids Here & There, and has active research programmes on tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus and human herpesvirus 6 infections, bacterial pneumonia/sepsis/meningitis and emerging infectious diseases.
HerpeZ is based at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, and has strong collaborative links with the University of Zambia (both the medical and veterinary schools) and Zambian Ministry of Health through the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI). In the United Kingdom, HerpeZ partners with The University of Lincoln and University College London. Laboratory research in the U.K centres on the development of model systems to study respiratory co-infection and pathogen-pathogen interactions in the respiratory tract. We are also engaged in molecular epidemiology and genomics research studying infectious disease transmission and the evolution of quasi-species.
HerpeZ is committed to capacity development and in particular, the creation of career development opportunities for Zambian and other African scientists through it's links with the UNZA-UCLMS Mentorship Programme.
On the PANDORA project HerpeZ is primarily involved with delivering Work Package 2, developing training materials and organising training workshops for first responders in all four Africa regions, as well as developing mobile lab capacity in Zambia and the Republic of Congo. HerpeZ is also involved in clinical surveillance and animal health work packages.