US medical expects team gives knowledge on new flu strain to Laos

(KPL) The United States Pacific Command (PACOM) team of medical expects visited Laos on 8 June, to provide knowledge and skills to the Lao officials of National Avian and Human Influenza Coordinating Office (NAHICO) and Lao Ministry of Health on the laboratory and epidemiology concepts in Disease Surveillance.
The workshop took place at the Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane on 9-12 June. More than 40 specialists from the Lao Ministry of Health, NAHICO, Vientiane Capital, Xieng Khuang, Savannakhet, Champassack and Vientiane provinces attended the event.
Mr Bounlay Phommasack, Head of the NAHICO said that the new strain of aH1N1 influenza pandemic poses a threat to human being and it is erupting to all parts of the world seeing this serious condition the NAHICO organised the workshop to upgrade staff’s knowledge. The visit of PACOM to Laos was sponsored by the United States Embassy to Laos.
This workshop is the opening event of a cooperative program with PACOM and NAHICO to enhance disease surveillance capacity within the Military Medical Department, improving the capacity of health experts within the Lao PDR to detect, respond and contain infectious disease. This program is made possible via the generous support of the Armed Force Health Surveillance Center/ Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHS/DOD-GEIS). The PACOM team is organized by the Office of International Health at Thirteenth Air Force from Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
Supporting the PACOM team with disease surveillance expertise is the Armed Force Research Institute of Medical Sciences from Bangkok, Thailand.