Cooperative Agreement NU51IP000919

SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE TO AVIAN AND PANDEMIC INFLUENZA BY NATIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES - VIROLOGIC AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEILLANCE ARE ESSENTIAL FOR DETECTING NEW INFLUENZA VIRUS VARIANTS MONITORING PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT AND GENERATING DATA REQUIRED FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT. HAVING A ROBUST VIROLOGIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM ENSURES THE RAPID DETECTION OF HUMAN INFECTIONS WITH NOVEL INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, AND CONSEQUENTLY, THE PROMPT CHARACTERIZATION OF VIRUSES AND THEIR VARIANTS. SUCH ENABLES THE TIMELY AND APPROPRIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES FOR DISEASE CONTROL.IN THE PHILIPPINES, INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE HAS BEEN WELL-ESTABLISHED FOR SEVERAL YEARS, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TAKING THE LEAD THROUGH THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL INFLUENZA CENTER LODGED AT THE RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR TROPICAL MEDICINE AND WITH SUPPORT FROM PARTNERS SUCH AS THE WHO AND THE CDC. CURRENTLY, FIVE (5) SUBNATIONAL LABORATORIES, TWO IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, ONE IN THE CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION, ONE IN REGION VII AND ONE IN REGION XI ARE FUNCTIONAL. HOWEVER, THE EXISTING SURVEILLANCE CAPACITY OF THE COUNTRY HAS TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED TO BE ABLE TO RAPIDLY IDENTIFY TRENDS IN SARS-COV-2 COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION, AND CONSEQUENTLY HOT SPOTS OF DISEASE TRANSMISSION; IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY MITIGATION MEASURES; AND IN THE LONG RUN, MONITOR DISEASE TRENDS.THIS PROPOSAL, ENTITLED ?SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE TO AVIAN AND PANDEMIC INFLUENZA BY NATIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES?, HAS TWO OBJECTIVES: (1) TO EXPAND THE CAPACITY OF LABORATORY TESTING TO BE ABLE TO INCLUDE SARS-COV-2 DETECTION AND GENOMIC SEQUENCING; AND (2) TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SENTINEL SITES.GENOMIC SEQUENCING WILL ENABLE OUR LABORATORIES TO IDENTIFY NOVEL PATHOGENS AND VIRUS MUTATIONS FROM ILI/SARI SURVEILLANCE SAMPLES AND TO MONITOR INFLUENZA VIRUS EVOLUTION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY. IN ESTABLISHING NEW ILI SENTINEL SITES IN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS AND SEAPORTS AND SARI SENTINEL SITES IN THIRTEEN REGIONAL HOSPITALS, WE WILL NOT ONLY ENHA NCE OUR TESTING CAPACITY FOR INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES BUT WILL ALSO IMPROVE OUR MONITORING OF VIRAL MUTATIONS DUE TO IMPORTATION AND LOCAL TRANSMISSION. LIKEWISE, THE PNIC PLAN TO REVIVE AND STRENGTHEN THE COLLABORATION WITH DENR AND DA TO ESTABLISH A FUNCTIONAL AND SUSTAINABLE MECHANISM TO STRENGTHEN COORDINATION AMONG ANIMAL-HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT SECTORS FOR THE EFFECTIVE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ZOONOTIC DISEASES.THIS ENHANCEMENT OF THE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE IMPROVED VIROLOGIC SURVEILLANCE DATA AND BETTER PREPARE THE COUNTRY IN RESPONDING TO OUTBREAKS AND FUTURE PANDEMICS.