October 2022: Williams Mwantoma, Fleming Fund Fellow from Malawi, participated in a SEQAFRICA workshop in Ghana to build capacity in bioinformatics. SEQAFRICA is led by the Global Capacity Building Research Group at the National Food Institute of the Technical University of Denmark and funded by a regional grant from the Fleming Fund. SEQAFRICA's main objective is to develop, expand and support whole genome sequencing (WGS) and bioinformatics capacity for surveillance of AMR across the African continent. The partnership has four regional centres in Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa, which help support investigations of outbreaks, unusual resistance phenotypes, and understand the flow of organisms and genes across human, animal, agricultural and aquaculture sectors.Whole genome sequencing training for Malawi fellowIn October 2022, SEQAFRICA organised a two-week workshop in Ghana to train professionals from across the continent in the techniques and applications of whole genome sequencing to AMR. Williams Mwantoma, the Animal Health Laboratory fellow from Malawi was able to attend this intensive training course, and continue building on the skills and experience he received during his visit to the University of Edinburgh in March 2022.The workshop was held at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana. Williams joined participants from both veterinary and human medicine laboratory personnel from across Africa – Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Eswatin, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Image Williams during library preparation as the first step in next-generation sequencing Williams received training covering all stages of WGS - from bacterial identification and DNA extraction, to workflow on different sequencing platforms, and crucially, on the data analysis and interpretation. He now looks forward to applying and using these skills at the Central Veterinary Laboratory Malawi, which has just begun offering PCR services, and is preparing to have sequencing equipment and materials available soon. Image Williams receives a certificate from Mr. Ahuno at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana Key skills for fellowship projectThe new skills gained from the SEQAFRICA workshop are is particularly relevant to the Fleming Fund fellowship project undertaken by Williams and the other fellows in Malawi. The project is investigating the prevalence of AMR in E. coli on poultry farms, and has collected over 1900 isolates that are awaiting WGS analysis. The training will allow Williams and the team to build and develop the necessary knowledge and technical capacity within Malawi for sequencing approaches that tackle AMR.Many thanks to the Fleming Fund Regional Grant and SEQAFRICA for organising this workshop, which really helped to build capacity and fill the knowledge gaps of the lab staff, especially in bioinformatics. The workshop has opened the eyes of the laboratory staff to understand the mechanism of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and to appreciate the power the WGS brings to surveillance of AMR.Williams MwantomaAMR Laboratory Animal Health Fellow and Laboratory technician at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Malawi Image Participants of this year's SEQAFRICA workshop in Accra, Ghana Related LinksFleming Fund Fellowship SchemeFleming Fund Regional Grant SEQAFRICA, GhanaNoguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana Publication date 21 Oct, 2022
