Project News

Biosafety workshop was organized at Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang (PINT) on 11 Nov. for review of so far project activities in the central region, and planning of expected project activities up to the end with a number of stakeholders. A total of 33 participants attended it from PINT, 2 southern pilot PCPMs (Da Nang and Hue), Japanese experts, and WHO Vietnam Office in Ho Chi Minh City.

Dr. Mai, Director of PINT, made an opening speech and a project leader and Dr. Minh Tam explained the purpose and outline of the workshop. And then Dr. Van Tuan, a National Professional Officer of WHO Vietnam in HCMC, gave a lecture on the main scheme of WHO for global public health, IHR: International Health Regulation (2005) and Asian public health, APSED: Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (2010) where WHO WPRO regards the capacity strengthening of laboratory diagnosis in Vietnam as important and expects the project to support establishment of biosafety, laboratory network and quality management in Vietnam. In the next section, Dr. Minh Tam presented the outline of project activities in Vietnam, especially the central region under the direction of PINT. Next, selected from GMT-targeted pathogens, Dr. Thi Quyet and Dr. Kim Trang presented the outcome of GMT/ Rickettsia tsutsugamushi and GMT/HFMD, respectively, so far supported by the project, and the perspective of collaboration between NIHE and NIID for the promotion of GMT/biosafety training. And moreover Dr. Thu Thao presented the outcome of Streptococcus suis despite its beyond GMT-targeted pathogens.

In the afternoon, Dr. Thanh Nhan, who was dispatched this September to Japan for biosafety training course from Da Nang PCPM, presented her experience and knowledge learned in the training course. And then Dr. Tanabayashi, a short-term expert, explained the outline of biosafety management performed in National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan. In the next section, we reviewed the past activities and points to be accomplished of the project and directors of 2 southern pilot PCPMs (Da Nang City and Hue) presented several points to be improved in each region, and we discussed what has to be performed by the end of the project, based on the draft prepared by Dr. Kim Tam and advice from a Japanese expert. We reached to the consensus that the project is encouraged to strengthen the activities of GMT training and TOT activities in the training of GMT and biosafety in the central area. Furthermore, we discussed the planning after the end of the project, based on the draft prepared by Dr. Kim Tam including the expectation from 2 pilot PCPMs. In conclusion, we made a consensus that PINT might have a substantial BSL-3 facility for establishment of future rapid laboratory diagnosis system in the central area of Vietnam in order to strengthen the laboratory network and quality management by expanding biosafety training to nationwide including the central area with TOT training. Workshop was closed with reaching to the conclusion that we should continue to make a definite plan covering necessities and requirements from each PCPM. This workshop provided a good opportunity to all of stakeholders related with the project in order to make a consensus about the past, the present and the future of the project activities in the central area.