The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) disseminated on 22nd December 2025 research findings from the project titled Genomic characterization of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Pathogens in Tanzania at the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Mtumba, Dodoma. The event was graced by the Acting DPS Dr Vida Mbaga together with heads of sections in surveillance from the MoH, representatives from ILI/SARI sentinel sites, National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tanzania underscoring the importance of multisectoral collaboration in addressing public health priorities.
Presenting the most salient findings, Dr Juma Kisuse, representing NIMR, presented that the study applied targeted Next-Generation Sequencing (tNGS) technology to comprehensively profile circulating respiratory pathogens and their associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. A total of 484 samples were randomly selected from the national ILI/SARI surveillance system and analyzed, covering the period from October 2023 to September 2024 across five geographical zones: Northern, Lake, Central, Coastal, and Southern Highlands. The study revealed a predominance of bacterial pathogens, dominated by Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, compared to the most commonly viruses reported.
The findings further revealed a high burden of bacterial and viral co-infections, with 89.5% of patients harbouring 2-14 pathogens. Thirty percent of patients exhibited mixed bacterial and viral co-infections, underscoring the complexity of diagnosis and management of ARI. Moreover, bacterial pathogens circulated year-round with clear peaks in June to December while viral pathogens showed sharper pathogen-specific peaks – CMV in March, Adenovirus in May, and SARS-CoV-2 in January/September. The study findings further indicated a high prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Genes associated with Doxycycline, Beta-lactamases and Sulphonamides.
In concuding remarks, NIMR DG, Prof Said Aboud commented that Streptococcus mitis, S pneumoniae and H influenzae infections were more frequent than viruses demonstrating a shift in trend from viruses to bacteria. He commented on the importance to strengthen immunization against Haemophilus influenza type b which is part of penta 5. He remarked to broaden the scope of ARI surveillance from current SARS Cov-2 and influenza virus to detect more pathogens with more possible use of tNGS in order to guide the interventions on ARI. Furthermore, he thanked the entire study team – Dr Mary Mayige, Dr Clara Lubinza, Dr Gibson Kagaruki, Sudi Lwitiho and Dr Seth Misago.