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News

2009

The news at the beginning of 2009 confirmed that the SISEA project’s results are already tangible in the field.

The laboratory network has been strengthened by the purchase of equipment, in particular aimed at increasing capability in terms of virological diagnosis for the three Vietnamese partners. Currently, the primary objective of SISEA – the strengthening of a network of reference laboratories – has in part been achieved. Over the course of 2010, a project will be conducted to harmonize molecular biology techniques and develop quality assurance in sentinel laboratories.

The start of 2009 also demonstrated that the second SISEA objective – contribution to the improvement of epidemic alert in each country – had already been achieved. The health authorities in the various countries called upon the laboratories in the SISEA network to monitor the emergence of the H1N1v virus within their territories. These initiatives on behalf of the various Ministries of Health prove that the laboratories in the SISEA network are considered references in the face of an epidemic risk, and that they contribute to the improvement of local epidemic alerts.

Lastly, the willingness of national participants to participate in regional training schemes and the quality of acquired data is testament to a desire to strengthen epidemic response networks on a regional level and in the countries concerned. This relates to the third objective of the SISEA project, which is also well on the way to being achieved.

2008

2008 was a decisive year for the SISEA project. Thanks to the involvement of those who presented the project to local health authorities – in association with scientific and medical coordinators – it has been possible to implement epidemiological surveillance activities in all participating institutions. The three Vietnamese partners (NIHE, IP Nha Trang and IP Ho Chi Minh City) and the participating institution in Laos carried out the first phases of microbiological and epidemiological analysis, combined with a solid campaign to train local participants in the field. The process undertaken was built upon a similar methodology in the four participating countries (sentinel sites) and the focus was on pathologies common to all of them (respiratory infections and encephalitis). The laboratory capabilities of all partners were improved thanks to the acquisition of equipment enabling the implementation of similar routine activities (selection of cases, sampling and biological analysis) in all institutes. The training that accompanied the provision of new equipment guarantees that these new diagnostic capabilities are being utilized appropriately. The primary objective of the SISEA project, that of strengthening laboratory capabilities in the countries concerned, has therefore been fully met.

For the two partners that started their activity in 2007 (Institut Pasteur in Cambodia and Institut Pasteur in Shanghai), 2008 was also a decisive year. In China, the Institut Pasteur in Shanghai has developed a new virological and serological diagnostic test for Japanese encephalitis as well as an identification test for the influenza A viruses. With work on the identification of circulating respiratory viruses and the establishment of a viromics platform for detecting pathogens causing viral encephalitis, the Institut Pasteur in Shanghai is confirming its leading role as a scientific support to SISEA partners. In Cambodia, the surveillance activities implemented from 2007 onwards have been recognized at the highest level by the Ministry of Health: from now on, the SISEA sites are an integral part of the network for collecting national epidemiological data. In Laos, where the project started only in 2008, the local health authorities called on SISEA’s expertise for field investigation of a case of H5N1 in humans. All these results confirm that the second objective of SISEA, the strengthening of programs of surveillance and response in terms of emerging pathologies, is well underway and recognized by local Ministries of Health.