Institut Pasteur du Laos

Due to an unprecedented workload with numerous samples arriving at Institut Pasteur du Laos and the various public health duties, the Administration and Virology team have not been able to answer numerous requests for interviews and journalistic solicitations as we need to prioritize the urgent public health mission. The Institut Pasteur du Laos has been solicited by the Lao Ministry of Health (MOH) as a front-line laboratory for COVID-19 diagnostics using RT-PCR as the method of detection. Institut Pasteur du Laos has been assigned by the Lao MOH a surveillance network of 10 hospitals from North to South for COVID19 detection: Phongsaly, Oudomxay, Vang Vieng (Vientiane Province), Xeingkhuang, Luangprabang, Savannakhet, Champassak Samples are received from the hospital network arrive at IPL and are analyzed under adequate biosafety / biosecurity conditions within the Institut Pasteur Laos BSL-Plus laboratory the highest biosafety level laboratory in Laos. The testing of suspected case samples takes around 4 hours in order to extract the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids and to amplify the viral genomic material using Real-Time PCR. Positive and negative results are reported to the Lao Ministry of Health International Heath Regulations contact person who then relays the result to the clinician/patient and to the World Health Organization. Each test has a relatively high cost of $15 US dollars and the equipment for sample preparation and analyses is also expensive. Patients sample testing is done free of charge. Institut Pasteur du Laos is supported by a donation from governments of various countries: France, Luxembourg, USA, Japan, Canada and also individuals via direct donations or donations to the Fondation Institut Pasteur du Laos under the auspices of the Fondation de France. In addition to Public Health diagnostic work on suspected COVID-19 cases, Institut Pasteur du Laos is also working on: Tracking the origin and transmission/spillover of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 In their article on the Global Epidemiology ...