Entebbe Mother and Baby Study (EMaBS)

EMaBS was established in 2003 as a randomised controlled trial at Entebbe Hospital, in Wakiso district on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. Between April 2003 and November 2005, 2,507 women attending antenatal care at Entebbe hospital were enrolled. Its original aim was to investigate the possible benefits of treating worm infections during pregnancy and early childhood — specifically their effect on children’s responses to immunisation and their susceptibility to infectious diseases and allergies.

The children have been followed prospectively ever since, making EMaBS a unique, on-going birth cohort in Africa. Over more than two decades it has generated rich data and biological samples spanning allergies, hypertension, and genetics, alongside helminths and other infections, immunisation, growth and body composition. With over two decades of comprehensive data and samples, alongside strong participant and community engagement, EMaBS now serves as a platform for addressing a wide array of research questions.

Through its EMaBS@21 phase, follow-up now extends into adulthood to investigate how early-life infections, undernutrition and socio-economic factors influence the risk of developing cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases. The cohort sits within the Unit’s Immunomodulation and Vaccines research theme and supports both secondary analyses of existing data and new nested studies.