Disease experts introduced new and innovative devices for detecting disease-causing germs in remote communities in a seminar and workshop in UP Mindanao on November 12, 2024.
Dr. Richard Paul, unit head at Institut Pasteur, a French NGO dedicated to studying diseases and vaccines, introduced the Mobile Suitcase Laboratory, a portable package for detecting infectious diseases in remote locations. The portable laboratory, developed by the Institut, can be powered by solar energy and detect Dengue, the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), and many other disease-causing germs anywhere.
Engr. Tom Roblin, also from Institut Pasteur, introduced the LuLISA technology, a diagnostic tool for detecting HIV and MonkeyPox diseases, manufactured through 3-D printing.
UP Mindanao’s Prof. Lyre Anni Murao, for her part, explained the new rabies detection method named Rapid In-field Diagnosis and Epidemiology of Rabies (RAIDER). These new devices and methods were introduced in the forum “Field Pathogen Detection Tools for Public Health Surveillance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.”
In a subsequent workshop, teams of students and health professionals discussed their observations of surveillance of public health issues in their communities. Their perceptions of the surveillance of dengue, COVID-19, HIV, rabies, monkeypox, and JEV were discussed in groups and shared in the plenary. Among the observations were the reluctance of citizens to report disease incidences and the need for more budget and facilities for disease surveillance by local government units. However, the Davao City Veterinarian’s Office representative said they could extend laboratory analytical services to neighboring LGUs.
The seminar and workshop were a pre-conference activity for the Mindanao Health R&D Expo, co-organized by UP Mindanao and the DOST health council.
The seminar and workshop were a product of the Science for the People collaboration between the Philippines and France. It was organized by UP Mindanao’s COVID-19 wastewater surveillance project and the Philippine Genome Center Mindanao.
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