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Representatives from 17 public health laboratories in the region gathered this week for the 26th edition of the Viral Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME) course in Panama.
The training, which was organized by the Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud (ICGES) in Panama, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Brazil and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), aims to strengthen genomic surveillance in the Americas. .
“The study of virus evolution is key to discovering mutations or variants that can modify the rate or severity of a pathogen’s transmission and affect the efficacy of diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments,” said Jairo Méndez, viral disease advisor at PAHO . “This is something we experienced with SARS-CoV-2, so we need to deepen genomic surveillance for any virus that emerges or re-emerges,” he added.
More than 120 people from all over the world participated in the 26th edition of VEME, a course that started at the University of Leuven, Belgium, more than 25 years ago.
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About 50 bioinformatics experts from renowned scientific institutions from 15 countries held the training that took place from August 21 to 26 in Panama. Participants from the region were supported through PAHO with funding from the United States Government.
The course consisted of theoretical and practical sessions divided into four modules, starting from the generation of data from genomic sequences to more complex analyzes of these sequences. For the first time, VEME also included a module aimed at managers and decision makers.
Dr. Carlos Sáenz, Secretary General of Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health, considered the training to be “extremely important” both for the technicians performing the genomic sequencing and for decision makers like himself.
“The course has provided tools to link the epigenetic situation, genomic sequencing and molecular epidemiology information to political and strategic decision-making at the level of each country,” he said, emphasizing the importance of “integrating technical approaches with transdisciplinary participation to solve problems. complex.”
Sequencing and genetic analysis provide insights into the evolution of a virus and its variants, as well as its geographic and temporal distribution.
Timely analysis of data serves to identify signs or changes that may have an impact on the behavior of the virus and on health tools and measures. In addition, the information obtained can be complementary to guide the response to an epidemic or pandemic.
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“This type of bioinformatic analysis is not something commonly done in public health laboratories in the region because it requires training and education,” said Alexander Martinez Caballero, Director of the Department of Genomic and Proteomic Research at the Gorgas Institute in Panama.
“From now on, many laboratories will be able to perform these tests in their premises at the right time and for different viruses of interest, such as monkeypox and others that may appear,” he said.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, sequencing capacity to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and its variants has been expanded in the region with the support of PAHO and the Regional Genomic Surveillance Network for COVID-19 (COVIGEN), which includes laboratories from more than 20 countries of America.
PAHO has provided training to strengthen genomic sequencing and integrate it into epidemiological surveillance in countries. As of 2020, COVIGEN has performed more than 426,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The VEME course is one more step to strengthen surveillance and is in line with the Regional Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which will be discussed in September by America’s health leaders during the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference of PAHO in Washington.
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