EU funding to help CARPHA expand Zika virus training for member states

Apr 04, 2018 News

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Guyana has been listed among the Caricom member states that have been faced in recent years with public health challenges, the likes of the Zika Virus.
According to the World Health Organisation [WHO], the Zika Virus is a disease caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes-type mosquitoes. People with the virus, WHO has noted, can have symptoms lasting up to two to seven days, including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. But the symptoms of Zika – which primarily spreads when a mosquito infected with Zika bites someone – have reportedly been farther reaching.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that while many people infected with Zika won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms, a pregnant woman on the other hand, even without symptoms, can pass Zika to her developing fetus.
According to CDC, too, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects. Among the birth defects that CDC has associated with the Zika virus is microcephaly.
Microcephaly is where the fetus is exposed to certain viruses, toxins or even drugs or alcohol during pregnancy resulting in underdevelopment of the brain tissues, thereby causing an abnormally small head.
Having been faced with the threat of Zika virus, Guyana too has recorded a few cases of microcephaly suspected to be related to the virus. In fact the local public health sector, like a number of other regional territories, has been depending heavily on the Caribbean Public Health Agency [CARPHA] laboratory in Trinidad to help confirm diagnosis of suspected cases.
CARPHA was legally established in July 2011 by an inter-governmental agreement signed by CARICOM Member States, and began operation in January 2013.
As a result, the CARPHA laboratory serves as the regional reference laboratory for its Member States. One of its strategic priorities is to strengthen the health systems of Member States through improved human resource development.
Moreover, in recognition of the fact that the Zika virus in the Caribbean presented a difficult challenge in terms of its rapid spread, its relationship to neurological anomalies and other complications among newborns and adults, and the potential for sexual transmission of the virus, CARPHA has not let up on its support.
In this regard, the Agency is currently serving as the Executing Agency for a European Union [EU]-funded Programme of Support for ‘Health System Strengthening for the Prevention and Response to Outbreaks of Zika and other Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the Caribbean’.
One of the main objectives of this 12-month project, which comes to an end in October 2018, is to improve the detection of Zika through, among other things, building capacity of CARPHA Member States for diagnostic testing capacity for Zika.
As part of the Project, CARPHA recently delivered training to 13 public health officials from Trinidad and Tobago in the updating of serological diagnostic techniques for the Zika virus, and the detection of human antibodies against Zika Virus.
The objective of the workshop was to enhance laboratory testing capacity for Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. Over two days, March 22 – 23, 2018, representatives from the Trinidad Public Health Laboratory [TPHL], Insect Vector Control Division [IVCD], Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre [EWMSC], and the Regional Health Authorities, were taught basic concepts of ELISA, and how to use an Elisa IgM Kit.
ELISA [Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay] is a plate-based assay technique designed for detecting and quantifying substances such as petides, proteins, antibodies and hormones.
Over the next months, at least five other Member States will receive the much-needed capacity-building and technical assistance for diagnostic testing. It is expected that Guyana will be selected as one of the member states to benefit from the crucial training.
Such training will be invaluable to Guyana, given its acquisition of some $20 million in medical equipment and supplies to fight against the Zika virus and other infectious diseases, compliments of the Government of China. The equipment included two centrifuges, a PCR machine and laptop to support testing for new and emerging infectious diseases. These were accompanied by the appropriate testing supplies including reagents.
The Chinese support also saw the vector control services being boosted with mosquito traps and knapsack manual sprayers to support prevention and control activities.
The Chinese endowment was complemented with training for hospital staffers to utilize the equipment as well as in MapInfo, to show the distribution of disease cases and the density of the mosquito vector. Vector control staffers were also tutored in calculating the Breteau Index which is a measure of disease risk based on the density of the vector in a particular area, as well as identifying mosquito species throughout the life cycle stages.
Meanwhile, laboratory staffers were supported in testing of samples for the Zika virus. The Public Health Ministry has announced that the specialised training will enhance the referral hospital’s control and prevention measures for Zika, but will also strengthen the health sector’s ability to respond to similar new and emerging diseases.

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