Team Grant: Canada-Latin America-Caribbean Zika Virus Program

The Canada-Latin America and Caribbean Zika Virus Research Program is expected to:

• Contribute to the global response to the Zika virus outbreak;
• Provide and share evidence that will support decision-making and a basis for evidence-informed recommendations for national and international organizations;
• Strengthen scientific research capacities of Canadian researchers and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) based researchers in Zika virus research;
• Establish collaborative teams between Canadian and LAC teams to share new knowledge relevant to the Zika virus on equal terms; and
• Increase networking and collaboration between Canadian researchers and LAC research teams and other research teams supported by other members of GloPID-R.

Applications are expected to develop collaborative informal or formal linkages with research teams supported by other relevant initiatives on the Zika virus, either already existing or under development at national, regional, and international level, including other initiatives from members of GloPID-R, in order to maximise synergy and complementarity and avoid duplication of the research efforts. Specific propositions on how this can be achieved should be included in the proposal.

CIHR and IDRC will provide funding for one application determined to be relevant in each of the three research areas below:

1. Pathogenesis
   Understanding the biological mechanisms of the Zika infection that lead to the severe reported complications, including but not limited to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and better define the full spectrum of defects caused by congenital Zika virus infection.

1. Diagnostics
   The development of improved Zika diagnosis and differential diagnosis assays, including testing and implementation, as necessary. This includes but is not limited to nucleic acid-based and serological assays, characterization of reagents for assay development and validation.

1. Vector Studies
1. the ecological transmission dynamics of Zika virus that may include some of the following dimensions: vector species identification, vector competence and vector capacity of local mosquito populations; infectivity of asymptomatic infected humans; assessment of Zika virus transmission/spread/persistence risk based on mathematical modelling and spatial analysis; or
2. the assessment of systematic and integrated vector control approach involving communities complemented with the evaluation of new technologies. Valid scientific studies should be carried out at an appropriate scale and include sustainability, feasibility, cost-effectiveness and community acceptability dimensions.

The research must be conducted either exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean or in Canada and Latin America and the Caribbean.