Centre d’expertise et de diagnostic biologique du Cameroun (CEDBCAM)
CEDBCAM is a quite recent diagnostic centre on the periphery of Cameroon. Their work is centred mainly on communicable infectious diseases, with a particular focus on addressing the major challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its impact on animal, human and environmental health, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, such as children, newborns, pregnant women and other immunocompromised people.
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr Luria Leslie Founou, the research director and advisory member of WHO in the field of foodborne disease burden epidemiology. In her opinion, both the devices we are developing and the freeze-dried LAMP reactions have great potential for application in your daily routine, especially at the radically affordable cost of 300-500€ per device.
The main targets of interest they have suggested are the early detection of malaria in infants and the detection of cholera (and other diarrheal diseases) in food. They could be an interesting partner to work on the molecular detection of antimicrobial resistances.
Douala University Institute of Technology
The Douala University Institute of Technology has one of the best-equipped laboratories we have seen in the region, including electrophoresis equipment, thermal cyclers, HPLC and gas chromatography.
It is a fairly new team; our contacts were Dr Davy and Dr Koloko working mainly on quality control in food products. They were impressed with the equipment we showed them and were interested in acquiring a few machines and reactions, especially if we could develop something related to food quality control. They are also interested in collaborating to produce scientific publications.
