Investigation and Response to Emerging Viral Pathogens of Security Concern

This project supports a collaboration with Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) to reduce risks and threats posed by emerging infectious zoonotic diseases in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and globally. Project activities include: (1) establishing a biosafety office within the Institut Pasteur du Laos; (2) delivering training and mentoring of Laotian scientists; (3) developing an inventory of previously undiscovered animal-borne viruses of security concern; (4) developing a database of zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential; and (5) publishing research papers on the risks and conditions that enable the interspecies transmission of zoonotic viruses.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) enhanced capacity of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to monitor for rapidly detect and effectively respond to disease outbreaks that pose a bioterrorism or bioweapons risk; (2) increased knowledge and awareness of local scientists/community of zoonotic viral pathogens and best practices related to the safe acquisition handling storage and cataloguing of biological samples; and (3) strengthened detection diagnosis and response to emerging viral pathogens by Lao scientists technicians and other national stakeholders.