Eugene Nzila Nzilambi

Eugene Nzila Nzilambi, also referred to as N. Nzila, Nzila Nzilambi, or Eugene Nzila, is a Zairean scientist and physician at the Department of Public Health in Kinshasa, now known as the Ministry of Public Health (Democratic Republic of the Congo). He played at important role in establishing Project SIDA in Zaire, along with several international scientists. While conducting research, he opened a walk-in clinic and has since produced a lot of research on the HIV virus.[1][2]

Background

Nzilambi is a Zairean scientist, working mainly in Kinshasa and Zaire. Nzilambi received his education at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and was later affiliated with the University of Kinshasa.[3] During the late 1990s and 1980s, he focused his research in epidemiology at the Mama Yemo Hospital, now known as Kinshasa General Hospital.

Career

Early work

He is known to have been the leader on many different research projects, specifically focusing on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, working with several international scientists.

In regards to Project SIDA, Nzilambi, as well as other researchers, such as Joseph B. McCormick & Jonathan Mann (WHO official), helped guide the establishment of Project SIDA in Kinshasa. He was one of the whole African scientists in many of his publications, others being Dr. Bosenga N’ Galy and Dr. Pangu Kasa Azila. The team focused on the prevalence of HIV and the risk factors that existed specifically in the area. A popular study with Kevin De Cock and Joseph B. McCormick, consisted of Nzilambi guiding the team in a ten year study, testing blood samples taken in 1976 and 1985. The study mainly established the presence of HIV in rural areas for a period of time, as well as the social issues that may have led to the epidemic.[4]

In the late 1980s most of his publications focused on HIV being present in groups of people, including pediatric patients and female prostitutes in Zaire. As a physician in the 1990s, Nzilambi began a walk-in clinic for Zairean prostitutes in order to help and educate them about HIV.[5] He studied the results of their tests, while offering support and care for their health. Later, Nzilambi, along with researchers like Bila Kapita and Peter Piot, attended an international conference in Atlanta.[6]

Post-Project SIDA work

After Project SIDA dismantled in 1991, Dr. Nzilambi continued his research. Much of it focused on the disease itself, rather than its prevalence in the communities of Zaire. In the late 1990s, it was discovered that Dr. Nzilambi had moved to the United States and was identifying groups of individuals that were not affected by the disease.[7]

His most recent work has been dated to the early 2000s. These publications revolve around vaccine and intervention efforts, as well as subtypes of the virus.

Publications
  • Surveillance for AIDS in a Central African city, Kinshasa, Zaire[8]
  • The Prevalence of Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus over a 10-Year Period in Rural Zaire[9]
  • Surveillance for AIDS in a Central African city, Kinshasa, Zaire[10]

References
  1. "Nzila Nzilambi's research works | University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and other places". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  2. Colebunders, Robert; Francis, Henry; Izaley, Lebughe; Kabasele, Kanyinda; Nzilambi, Nzila; Van Der Groen, Guido; Vercauteren, Gaby; Mann, JonathanM.; Bila, Kapita; Kakonde, Ndangi; Ifoto, Limbaka (February 1987). "Evaluation of a Clinical Case-Definition of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in Africa". The Lancet. 329 (8531): 492–494. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(87)92099-x. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 2881049. S2CID 659937.
  3. Noble, Kenneth B. (1994-03-22). "Political Chaos in Zaire Disrupts Efforts to Control AIDS Epidemic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  4. Ap (1988-02-04). "Study Backs Theory That AIDS Festered in Africa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  5. Gerhart, Gail M.; Richburg, Keith B. (1997). "Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa". Foreign Affairs. 76 (6): 176. doi:10.2307/20048340. ISSN 0015-7120. JSTOR 20048340.
  6. Garrett, Laurie (1994). The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-374-12646-9.
  7. Cohen, Jon (1997). "The Rise and Fall of Projet SIDA". Science. 278 (5343): 1565–1568. doi:10.1126/science.278.5343.1565. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 2894851. PMID 9411779. S2CID 26805248.
  8. Mann, J. M. (1986-06-20). "Surveillance for AIDS in a central African city. Kinshasa, Zaire". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 255 (23): 3255–3259. doi:10.1001/jama.255.23.3255. PMID 3012131.
  9. Nzilambi, Nzila; De Cock, Kevin M.; Forthal, Donald N.; Francis, Henry; Ryder, Robert W.; Malebe, Ismey; Getchell, Jane; Laga, Marie; Piot, Peter; McCormick, Joseph B. (1988-02-04). "The Prevalence of Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus over a 10-Year Period in Rural Zaire". New England Journal of Medicine. 318 (5): 276–279. doi:10.1056/NEJM198802043180503. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 3336420.
  10. Mann, J. M. (1986-06-20). "Surveillance for AIDS in a central African city. Kinshasa, Zaire". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 255 (23): 3255–3259. doi:10.1001/jama.255.23.3255. PMID 3012131.
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