Uganda Virus Research Institute

The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) is a medical research institute owned by the Uganda government that carries out research on communicable diseases in man and animals, with emphasis on viral transmitted infections. UVRI is a component of Uganda National Health Research Organization (UNHRO), an umbrella organization for health research within Uganda.

The organization was established in 1936 as the Yellow Fever Research Institute by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1947, scientists researching yellow fever placed a rhesus macaque in a cage in the Zika Forest. The monkey developed a fever, and researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that was first described as Zika virus in 1952. Other noteworthy arboviruses discovered at the institute include Chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, Bwamba virus, Semliki Forest virus, O'nyong'nyong virus, and Kadam virus.

In 1950, the institute was renamed the East African Virus Research Institute, and later in 1977, became UVRI.