Through an International Vaccine Institute (IVI) project in Burkina Faso, field study coordinators Lady Rosny Wandji Nana and Enoch Cakpo are helping to generate critical evidence on the hepatitis E virus (HEV) and its impact on pregnant women—a largely overlooked infection that can pose serious health risks for mothers and babies.

Nana Lady and Enoch recently received a photograph of a healthy newborn that brought both relief and joy.

The baby’s mother was among the first pregnant women identified with a hepatitis E infection through the HEViP study: Assessing the Seroprevalence and Course of Infection of Hepatitis E Virus in Pregnant Women. Throughout her pregnancy, the research team closely monitored her health, arranging liver function tests and maintaining contact with her family.

“We were very happy to hear that mother and baby were doing well,” says Nana Lady. The news was especially welcome because hepatitis E is associated with severe complications for pregnant women. Understanding when and how infection occurs is one of the central aims of the study.

High risk during pregnancy

HEViP was launched in 2025 by IVI’s Epidemiology, Public Health, Impact (EPIC) unit, in collaboration with the Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population (ISSP) at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou, with support from the Swedish government through IVI’s Europe Regional Office.

IVI’s Kristi Prifti (left) and with HEViP team members on a site visit and during enrollment. Credit: IVI

The study follows pregnant women attending routine antenatal care visits across multiple sites located in the informal settlements of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, and the rural town of Boromo. Researchers collect blood samples alongside information on health, living conditions, and water, sanitation and hygiene practices to understand how hepatitis E circulates, who is most affected, and how infection influences maternal and newborn health.

“Pregnancy is when hepatitis E can be at its most dangerous,” says Kristi Prifti, technical lead of HEViP at IVI’s EPIC unit. “If a woman becomes infected during her third trimester, the risks of liver failure, stillbirth, and neonatal complications increase significantly.”

That reality drives Nana Lady and Enoch’s work every day. In communities where awareness of hepatitis E remains limited, they are helping to build knowledge about the virus, how it spreads, and how its risks can be reduced.

Where research meets communities

Nana Lady is a pharmacist and public health researcher with nearly ten years of experience in infectious diseases, epidemiology, and health systems research. Enoch, an epidemiologist, brings expertise in disease surveillance and community-based research, working to advance disease prevention and improve public health through rigorous research and fieldwork.

Results assess the prevalence of the hepatitis E virus. Credit: IVI

Together, they coordinate field activities across sites, overseeing participant enrollment, sample collection, community engagement, and data quality while working closely with nurses, physicians, laboratory teams, and community health workers.

Yet their work extends far beyond research logistics. They are often the bridge between scientific research and the communities it aims to serve.

“A rewarding part of my work is being out in the field, meeting people, and knowing that the research we are doing can make a difference for pregnant women and their families,” Enoch says.

“It’s important because in our communities, many people have never heard of hepatitis E. They often know about hepatitis A, B, and C, but awareness of hepatitis E remains much lower.”

Conversations also reveal how pregnancy complications are sometimes misunderstood. “I learned that pregnant women here sometimes attribute miscarriage to witchcraft,” Enoch adds.  “We can offer an alternative understanding to families by building awareness of transmission and the serious implications of the virus.”

Nana Lady has witnessed this knowledge gap firsthand.

During a visit to Boromo, she joined a community nutrition program where mothers were learning how to prepare meals for young children, using the opportunity to introduce information about hepatitis E. “After talking to them, it was clear they did not know about the virus, or how it is transmitted and prevented, but they were keen to get more information.”

Understanding what drives disease

The study also examines environmental and behavioral factors that may influence transmission, including water sources, sanitation practices, food handling, and household conditions, alongside data on malaria infections to explore whether co-infection affects pregnancy outcomes.

These broader factors are essential, as Prifti explains: “Vaccines are incredibly important preventive tools, but we also need to understand the environmental conditions and behaviors that drive disease transmission.”

The project also reflects Prifti’s personal commitment to women’s health research: “There are still many gaps in our understanding of health conditions that affect women. Pregnancy is a critical period and understanding what influences maternal and newborn outcomes can have a lasting impact.”

HEViP is part of a long-term commitment by Lady Nana and Enoch to improve health outcomes in Burkina Faso.

Professor Abdramane Bassiahi Soura. Credit: ISSP

Communities still recognize them from their previous work with IVI on a long-term surveillance and research study on the impact of the typhoid conjugate vaccine that began in 2011. These field studies helped generate evidence and support advocacy efforts that contributed to the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines in the country.

Professor Abdramane Bassiahi Soura, Site Principal Investigator of HEViP, explains that today’s research can shape tomorrow’s interventions: “Hepatitis E is a disease that needs more awareness and surveillance, and we can use the data we collect for advocacy work. Maybe in the future there will be a hepatitis E vaccine readily available in Africa.”

That photograph of a healthy baby was a reminder of why this work matters—not only for families today, but for future generations.

By generating evidence on hepatitis E, strengthening surveillance, and increasing awareness, the HEViP study is helping lay the foundation for better prevention, earlier detection, and stronger public health responses to protect mothers and babies in Burkina Faso and beyond.