PAHO strengthens genomic surveillance in the Caribbean

PANAMA CITY, CMC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it is strengthening genomic surveillance in the Americas, including the Caribbean.

Representatives from 17 public health laboratories in the region came together this week for the 26th edition of the Viral Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME) course in Panama. 

On Friday, the health organisation  said  the training, which it organised in collaboration with the Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud in Panama and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, “aims to strengthen genomic surveillance in the Americas.” 

"Studying the evolution of viruses is key to detecting mutations or variants that can modify the transmission rate or severity of a pathogen and affect the efficacy of diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments,” said Jairo Méndez, emerging viral disease advisor at PAHO.

“This is something we experienced with SARS-CoV-2, so we must deepen genomic surveillance for any emerging or re-emerging viruses,” he added. 

More than 120 people from around the world participated in the 26th edition of VEME, a course that originated at the University of Leuven, Belgium, more than 25 years ago. 

Around 50 experts in bioinformatics from renowned scientific institutions from 15 countries delivered the training that took place from August 21 to 26 in Panama, PAHO said. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sequencing capacity to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and its variants has been expanded in the region with the support of PAHO and the Regional COVID-19 Genomic Surveillance Network (COVIGEN), which includes laboratories from more than 20 countries in the Americas. 

PAHO said it has provided training to strengthen genomic sequencing and to integrate it into epidemiological surveillance in the countries. 

Since 2020, COVIGEN has performed more than 426,000 sequences of SARS-CoV-2 in Latin America and the Caribbean, PAHO said. 

It said the VEME course is one more action to strengthen surveillance and is aligned with the Regional Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which will be discussed in September by health leaders of the Americas during PAHO's 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference in Washington.

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