Collaborative Efforts to Combat Schistosomiasis At Joint Meeting.
October 31, 2024
Collaborative Efforts to Combat Schistosomiasis At Joint Meeting.
October 31, 2024

Poliovirus Research & Surveillance Boost with WHO Accreditation of the KEMRI Polio Lab.

Research Scientists, Mercy Akinyi and Collins Cheruiyot at the Polio Lab.

The KEMRI Polio Lab has received a new World Health Organization (WHO) accreditation affirming its role as a key player in global poliovirus surveillance in the region.

The accreditation, announced after an extensive exercise last week, is a major boost for polio eradication across the East Africa region and makes the Centre for Virus Research (CVR) based facility a critical strategic global poliovirus surveillance player of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).

The accreditation exercise completed after an intensive four-day onsite review from 21st to 25th, October, 2024 was conducted by a team of international experts led by WHO AFRO’s Dr. Charles Byabamazima, with key experts Dr. Mwaka Monze, Dr. Collins Owuor, and Dr. Jarmaine Khumalo and assessed guarantees that the facility maintained the highest standards in accuracy, reliability, and quality of poliovirus diagnostics. It is instructive that the assessment and eventual accreditation of this facility coincided with World Polio Day commemorated annually on 24th, October.

The review focused on the lab’s capacity to identify and analyze both wild and Vaccine-Derived PolioViruses (VDPV), essential for guiding public health responses worldwide. The expert team utilized the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) standard polio laboratory checklist, ensuring that the lab operates in line with global best practices in poliovirus detection, safety protocols, and data reporting.

The accreditation signifies more than routine lab assessment; it underscores the importance of pathogenspecific expertise. By focusing on poliovirus strains, the lab can track the spread of both wild and vaccine-derived viruses, like the recent cVDPV2 outbreak detected in Kakuma, Kenya. The lab’s quick response enabled health officials to address the virus promptly, especially crucial in vulnerable areas like refugee camps. Guided by Prof. Peter Borus, Rosemary Nzunza, and Joanne Hassan, under the leadership of the Deputy Director Dr. Samul Khamadi and James Gikunda, a 19 member KEMRI team worked tirelessly to meet global standards. These efforts support the GPEI’s mission by providing high-quality data that drives immunization campaigns and strategic responses across borders.

Other members of the team include Jennifer Njomo, Janet Ngugi, Paul Muchai, Samira Ali. Robert Mainga, Stephen Ombija, Mercy Akinyi, Diana Wanjiru, Fiona Alaii, Peter Maritim, Collins Cheruyot, Benlick Kihugu, Jim Nyangao, Agnes Ndunge, Silvester Shikuku and John.

Accredited labs like KEMRI’s are essential to eradicating polio, offering the trusted insights needed for vaccine deployment and outbreak containment. This accreditation, part of an ongoing cycle of reviews and capacity building, keeps laboratories at the forefront of public health efforts, enabling timely responses to emerging threats and advancing global polio eradication.

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