In February 2024, the ODIN team embarked on a week-long site visit and hybrid workshops in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, marking a significant milestone in their mission.

Joined by esteemed colleagues from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) - Tanzania, Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN/URCN), and Université de Kinshasa (UNIKIN), the ODIN team delved into a rich exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Key outcomes:

• Sampling locations for environmental surveillance will include vulnerable drinking water sources, surface water bodies containing human excreta and community wastewater
• Wastewater sampling locations will be shared with polio eradication program
• The ODIN project will support strengtening the environmental laboratory capacities for water microbiology at NPHL's
• The WES proof-of-concept data will be produced for toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella Typhi and ESBL/CP E. coli & K. pneumoniae
• WGS of above-mentioned priority pathogens will enable genomic surveillance e.g. for outbreak investigation purposes

Photo: Tentative ODIN sampling sites include a community drinking water well in the rural area and a community wastewater pond in the urban area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.