Eric Ogola
Country (Nationality)
Kenya
Grantee Title
Project – Rational antibiotic use for treatment of sick children in local health facilities
Grantee Description
Eric Ogola is an epidemiologist trained at the University of Nairobi and Makerere University in Kampala. He has been involved in research and control of diseases at the human-animal-ecosystem interface for nine years under the collaboration between the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the US Centers for Disease Control. He previously worked as the deputy head of the Integrated Human-Animal Health Programme at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. Ogola is a disease -detective at the human-animal-ecosystem interface. He has been involved in various outbreak investigations against emerging infections including rabies, polio and others. He was part of the WHO National supervisory team during the Kenyan polio outbreak response in 2010. He currently teaches public health students at a state university in Western Kenya. His current research interest is in the area of neonatal sepsis and antimicrobial resistance.
Project – Rational antibiotic use for treatment of sick children in local health facilities
Ogola proposes to reduce deaths in young children by developing an easier way to decide which antibiotic to use in blood-borne infections in children less than one month old. This will reduce deaths in children as a result of blood-borne infections. It will also lead to judicious use of antibiotics and prevent the development of drug resistance. Clinicians in health facilities without laboratories will be able to make an educated guess on the best treatment that is likely to give an effective outcome. Authorities will also be able to monitor the rate of treatment failure and recommend new guidelines in time, thereby preventing more deaths over time.