The Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research Group (GHID-KCCR) at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) has hosted researchers from Cameroon, Guinea, and Uganda for an intensive training under the SeroMARV Africa project (a continental effort to uncover the hidden footprint of Marburg virus).

Three scientists lean over a machine no larger than a desktop printer in a quiet laboratory complex in Kumasi. Sample plates slide into place. Data flickers onto a screen. Within hours, answers will emerge for many organisms.

What they are learning here could determine how quickly Africa detects and stops future outbreaks. This is Africa preparing for the next unknown.

In 2023, Ghana confirmed its first cases of Marburg virus disease, a rare but often fatal haemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola. The outbreak was contained swiftly, drawing on lessons learned during COVID-19.

But containment raised deeper questions.

Had the virus been circulating silently before detection?
Were mild or undiagnosed infections missed?
Could similar hidden transmission be occurring elsewhere in Africa?

These uncertainties launched a scientific investigation that has since expanded across borders.

One Machine, Sixteen Answers

At the centre of the training is the Luminex MAGPIX multiplex assay system, a technology that has the potential to change how outbreaks are studied.

Using a single blood sample, the system can detect antibodies, signs of past infection, against multiple dangerous viruses at once, including Marburg and Ebola.

Traditional testing methods require separate assays for each pathogen, consuming scarce resources and precious days.

Luminex changes that equation.

With one run, researchers can obtain up to sixteen results from a single sample, generating rapid, high-quality data that can be compared across countries.

Donald Buri, the project coordinator for SeroMARV in Cameroon, said the significance goes beyond mastering the machine.

“Training here has been excellent, not just the lab work, but seeing the facilities and understanding what is happening across departments,” he said.
“With the skills I have acquired, we will no longer need to send samples abroad. We can analyze them back home and get results on time.”

For decades, many African countries have relied on overseas laboratories for advanced diagnostics, a process that delays results, is often costly, and does not exactly strengthen outbreak response. Building local capacity is widely seen as one of the most critical steps toward health security.

Multiplying Expertise Across Borders

Matthew Odongo, an immunology PhD student from the Uganda Virus Research Institute, arrived with research questions that depended on Luminex technology but without formal training.

He will return home as a trainer himself.

“The team here is extremely supportive; it has been a smooth experience,” he said.
“Now I feel equipped not only to run Luminex assays but to train others in Uganda.”

This ripple effect of training one scientist to strengthen an entire institution is central to the project’s design.

Molecular biologist Niouma Pascal Kamano from Guinea’s Centre National de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Rurale expressed that the experience reinforced another truth about modern science: no country can face emerging pathogens alone.

“We truly benefited from a wonderful training and an excellent team who guided us from the first day. It was conducted in a highly professional manner. We are deeply grateful for what the local team has done,” he said.

His home region is historically significant, as it has been at the epicentre of multiple haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, including Ebola. Strengthening surveillance there could provide early warning signals for the entire region.

SeroMARV Africa

Each participating country has recruited about 1,000 participants, producing a total of roughly 3,000 plasma samples now undergoing analysis in Ghana.

The goal is to detect antibodies, evidence that a person was exposed in the past, even if they never became seriously ill.

Such data can reveal whether Marburg virus has circulated silently in communities, hidden behind symptoms that mimic common illnesses like malaria or typhoid.

By investing in advanced laboratory skills and shared data systems, Africa is attempting to move from reactive crisis management to proactive preparedness, where disease threats are detected before they escalate.

Ghana’s role in this training reflects the growing scientific leadership emerging from the continent itself.

“Outbreaks may begin in one country, but borders rarely contain them. By training African scientists to generate high-quality data in their own laboratories, we are building a continental shield. One that allows us to detect threats earlier, respond faster, and protect our populations with evidence,” said Dr. Anthony Afum Adjei Awuah, Site Principal Investigator in Ghana and lead trainer.

As the researchers process thousands of samples, we continue to wonder: Could the Marburg virus be circulating undetected in certain parts of Africa?

For now, the question hangs in the air of the laboratory. Nonetheless, Africa is no longer waiting passively for the next outbreak. 

It is building the tools, skills, and networks to confront it head-on.