International Day of Immunology 2021: COVID-19
The International Day of Immunology (DoI) is celebrated on 29 April as a way of bringing immunology out of the labs and into the hearts and minds of the general public.
“The day of immunology appreciates the work done by immunologists worldwide, be it in basic research, clinical or industry sectors. It provides us an opportunity to reflect on past achievements and challenges and look forward to future advances in the ever-growing field.” says Kelvin Mokaya, a proud immunologist, who shares the importance of celebrating the monumental achievements of immunologists especially in this incredibly difficult year. Kelvin’s desire to pursue a career that involves prevention and treatment of diseases developed while he was in high school.
Immunology is the study of the immune system and is an important branch of the medical and biological sciences. The immune system protects us from infection through various lines of defence. If the immune system is not functioning as it should, it can result in disease, such as auto-immunity, allergy and even cancer. It is also now becoming clear that immune responses contribute to the development of many common disorders not traditionally viewed as immunologic, including metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Vaccines are one of the greatest medical achievements of all time. In the early 20th century, thousands of people died each year from diseases such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough, which are now prevented by childhood vaccination. Diseases like Smallpox that once killed millions of people have now been completely eradicated by vaccination.
“Vaccine development to current and emerging diseases remains an urgent priority. We are also seeing a growth in non-communicable diseases (such as cancer and diabetes) in low-and-middle income countries, and immunologists need to collaborate with scientists from other fields to provide solutions to these health issues.” notes Kelvin.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the powerful tool that is public health vaccines. It is important to note that in less than a year since the pandemic was declared, scientists have been able to develop several highly effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“I am happy to be in this field at a time where knowledge in immunology is needed to prevent and treat diseases, including the crucial contribution to COVID-19 research. It has been exciting to live in these unprecedented times where we have seen the development and positive impacts of COVID-19 vaccines in real time. It has also been a time to build systems and public confidence needed for global vaccination of current and future vaccines. With ongoing advances in immunology and accelerated scientific discovery, we will be better placed to prevent future pandemics.” says Kelvin.
Vaccines train the immune system to protect against the virus and are already reducing hospitalisations and death rates. Thanks to these vaccines we can now start to think about a return to our ‘normal’ lives.
The recent development of COVID vaccines in such a short period of time showed that when scientists, funders, and policy makers collaborate and work together towards a common goal, they can achieve much. Kelvin’s main interest has always been in tropical diseases and he hopes that the same approach will be applied in the search for effective vaccines against malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other infectious agents that kill millions of people in developing countries.
“Vaccines may be the ultimate key to ending these diseases, as seen with the eradication of smallpox and the significant reduction of polio, measles, and mumps among other vaccine-preventable diseases.” Kelvin continues to note that “Indeed, this is the best time to be an immunologist. Not only do we require expertise to deal with traditional diseases, but there is also an increase in emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Zika and Ebola.”
Kelvin’s current work involves understanding the mechanisms by which severely anaemic children acquire bacterial infections. “Our work, and results from animal studies, suggest that severe anaemia might disrupt immune and iron status. Iron is an essential nutrient needed to produce red blood cells among other important functions. During an infection, bacteria, viruses, malaria and other invaders also need iron to survive, creating a tag of war for this precious metal. This struggle for iron by human and pathogen cells impacts on the severity of an infection, and how our immune system responds to pathogens,” says Kelvin.
His long-term goal is to contribute to the eradication of endemic tropical infections through the development of vaccines and other treatment strategies.
