Institut Pasteur de Dakar
Senegalese vaccine research institute; conducting genomic sequencing on MV Hondius hantavirus cluster samples.
Last refreshed: 7 May 2026
Why is a Senegalese institute sequencing samples from an Argentine cruise-ship outbreak?
Timeline for Institut Pasteur de Dakar
Mentioned in: Andes hantavirus confirmed in Swiss returnee
Pandemics and Biosecurity- What is the Institut Pasteur de Dakar?
- Institut Pasteur de Dakar is a Senegalese public health research institute founded in 1896. It is a WHO collaborating centre, a founding Pasteur Network member, and one of Africa's few institutions with full genomic sequencing capability for emerging pathogens. It also manufactures yellow fever vaccine.Source: Institut Pasteur de Dakar
- Why is Institut Pasteur de Dakar sequencing the MV Hondius samples?
- IPD was brought in alongside NICD South Africa to sequence MV Hondius cluster samples because of its rare combination of Pasteur Network affiliation, WHO-recognised virology expertise, and established genomic sequencing capacity for haemorrhagic-fever pathogens.Source: CIDRAP
- Does Africa have the capacity to manufacture mRNA vaccines?
- Institut Pasteur de Dakar is building mRNA manufacturing capability through CEPI's technology transfer programme, making it one of the first African institutions to develop this capacity. It already produces yellow fever vaccine at scale.Source: CEPI
Background
Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) is a Senegalese public health and research institute founded in 1896, one of the oldest and most established members of the Pasteur Network. Based in Dakar, Senegal, it operates as a national public health reference laboratory, a WHO collaborating centre for arboviruses and haemorrhagic fevers, and a vaccine manufacturer. IPD produces yellow fever vaccine and has invested in mRNA platform capacity through CEPI's mRNA vaccine technology transfer programme. It employs around 500 staff, including microbiologists, virologists, and clinical researchers, and is among the few African institutions with full-scale genomic sequencing capability for emerging pathogens.
Institut Pasteur de Dakar is conducting serology, sequencing, and metagenomic analysis on samples from the MV Hondius Andes hantavirus cluster alongside NICD South Africa. The sequencing work will determine whether any secondary cases among European contacts carry genomically similar Andes virus, which would constitute the strongest evidence yet of person-to-person transmission in this cluster. IPD's involvement reflects both its Pasteur Network membership and its specific genomic sequencing capacity, capabilities that are rare in Africa and that make it a preferred partner for complex outbreak investigations requiring rapid turnaround. IPD is also part of the CEPI-Pasteur Network expansion agreed on 21 April 2026 for regional vaccine R&D infrastructure linked to the H5N1 mRNA programme.