South African immunologist Professor Clive Gray recognised the potential value of an understanding of up-to-date immunology in the treatment of HIV and subsequently developed Immunopaedia - an online initiative. It has recently received the prestigious Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE).

The US-based SPORE awards have been established to encourage innovation and excellence in science education for the provision of high-quality online resources accessible to students, teachers and the public. This is the first South African online initiative to receive the prestigious prize.

The information provided by the website facilitates the diagnoses of a range of immune-mediated diseases, including HIV or provides information on the appropriate combination of drug treatments that complement each other. Now doctors can quickly and efficiently gain a working knowledge of immunology through real-life case studies and news of immunology breakthroughs.

Since its launch in 2006, Immunopaedia has gone from 300 first-time users a month to between 2,500 and 3,000, most of whom are South African clinicians. The site also attracts users from other parts of Africa, South America and the United States.

"Receiving the SPORE award is fantastic for increasing the site's usage, but it is also recognition of our achievements in creating a credible online learning tool for a country with an enormous disease burden," Gray says.

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