Gervais Habarugira
Gervais Habarugira is a veterinarian committed to research in the area of infectious diseases. He is currently a CERC Fellow at the Australia Centre for Diseases Preparedness (ACDP), CSIRO.
Gervais holds an advanced diploma in Animal Health (2006) and a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (2010) from the Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (ISAE) (currently the College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda). Here, he focused on the investigation of the prevalence and pathology of bovine mastitis, bovine tuberculosis (bTB), and their economic impact in Rwanda. He obtained his Master of Veterinary Science, majoring in Veterinary Diagnostic Pathology from UQ (2106). He received a PhD in 2023 from the UQ in the field of Virology, Immunology and Diagnostics. His thesis elucidated the pathogenesis of WNV infection in Australian Saltwater crocodiles, including the non-vector viral transmission. He also contributed to developing a vaccine that protects crocodiles against skin lesions induced by the West Nile virus. Moreover, he generated saltwater crocodile-specific diagnostic reagents that outperformed commercially available crocodilian reagents.
Gervais previously attended a summer school under the theme "Integrated management of transboundary diseases for inclusive economic growth" at Makerere University (Uganda), focusing on collecting and analysing pathological samples in wildlife and domestic animals. He was also trained in animal disease diagnostics and bovine artificial insemination. Between 2012 and 2018, Gervais routinely provided "One Health" expert guidance on zoonotic infectious diseases to Rwandan veterinarians, health professionals, and farmers. He collaborated with various organisations and individuals locally (Rwanda), regionally (East African Community), and internationally in the field of veterinary pathobiology and zoonotic infectious diseases. He has over 20 published articles in peer-reviewed journals and two book chapters. His research interests include the pathobiology of infectious diseases, including but not limited to arboviral infections. He also has a strong interest in neglected tropical infectious diseases. He is an ad hoc reviewer for Acta Tropica (Elsevier), the African Journal of Infectious Diseases (African Journals Online), the Journal of Parasitic Diseases (Springer) and the Viruses (MDPI).
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