Pasteur Institute of Dakar

In 1896 Émile Marchoux, a French physician and microbiologist who had studied under Louis Pasteur, founded a microbiological laboratory in Saint-Louis, then the capital of French Colonial Senegal.

[1][2] After French Colonial Senegal, the institute continued its operations into the era of Senegalese independence.

The IPD is primarily focused on the study of microbiology and virology, specifically arbovirus; yellow fever was first isolated in Africa at the institute, and the first vaccine for the disease was discovered at the IPD.

[3] Following the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, the institute began to work on developing a cost-effective means of testing for coronavirus.

[4][5] Furthermore, in July 2021 an agreement was reached between Senegal, the European Commission, European Investment Bank, France, Germany and Belgium to build a large-scale manufacturing facility at the Pasteur Institute for the production of vaccines against COVID-19 and other endemic diseases.