Lena Vânia Manhique Coutinho

Graduated in Biological Sciences from the Department of Biology at Eduardo Mondlane University (2009), and holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from the Biotechnology Center in Mozambique. She is a researcher in the field of Antimicrobial Resistance.

Her professional goal is to contribute to the understanding and improvement of major health issues affecting the Mozambican population, with a particular focus on maternal and child health, through research and the provision of scientific evidence.

She is currently pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Microbiology at IHMT-NOVA.

In terms of research, she contributed to the implementation of the African Cholera Surveillance Network (AFRICHOL, 2011) and the National Acute Diarrhea Surveillance System (ViNaDia, 2014) in Mozambique. She has experience in the phenotypic identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens, as well as a basic knowledge of molecular biology.

She is a member of the Women’s and Children’s Health Program and the Antibiotic Resistance and Rational Use Platform at the National Institute of Health (INS).

1. Salência-Ferrão J, Chissaque A, Manhique-Coutinho L, Kenga AN, Cassocera M, de Deus N. Inappropriate use of antibiotics in the management of diarrhoea in children under five years admitted with acute diarrhoea in four provinces of Mozambique 2014-2019. BMC Infect Dis. 2025;25(1):209. Published 2025 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12879-025-10597-z
2. Manhique-Coutinho L, Chiani P, Michelacci V, et al. Molecular characterization of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli isolates from children with diarrhea: A cross-sectional study in four provinces of Mozambique: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in Mozambique. Int J Infect Dis. 2022;121:190-194. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2022.04.054
3. Sambo J, Cassocera M, Chissaque A, Bauhofer AFL, Roucher C, Chilaúle J, Cossa-Moiane I, Guimarães EL, Manhique-Coutinho L, Anapakala E, Bero DM, Langa JS, Polman K, Gonçalves L, de Deus N. Characterizing undernourished children under-five years old with diarrhoea in Mozambique: a hospital-based cross-sectional study, 2015-2019. Nutrients. 2022;14(6):1164. doi:10.3390/nu14061164
4. Bauhofer AFL, Cossa-Moiane ILCC, Marques SDA, Guimarães ELAM, Munlela BA, Anapakala EM, Chiláule JJ, Cassocera M, Langa JS, Chissaque A, Sambo JAM, Manhique-Coutinho LV, Bero DM, Kellogg TA, Gonçalves LAP, de Deus N Intestinal protozoa in hospitalized under-five children with diarrhoea in Nampula – a cross-sectional analysis in a low-income setting in northern Mozambique. BMC Infect Dis. 2021;21(1):201. Published 2021 Feb 23. doi:10.1186/s12879-021-05881-7
5. Langa JP, Sema C, De Deus N, Colombo MM, Taviani E. Epidemic waves of cholera in the last two decades in Mozambique. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2015;9(6):635-641. Published 2015 Jul 4. doi:10.3855/jidc.6943 Special thanks to Liliana Dengo Baloi and Lena Manhique Coutinho for technical support.