Canada is deploying a second mobile lab team to West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sent its first mobile lab made up of three researchers to Kaliahun, in eastern Sierra Leone, in June, aimed at helping diagnose those with Ebola.
But that mobile unit was abruptly called back to Canada in late August following a scare where an Ebola outbreak occurred among hotel workers at same hotel where the researchers were staying.
A replacement team of three researchers were sent back to the Kailahun on Sept. 6, and have been operating a diagnostic testing clinic for a Doctors Without Borders treatment centre.
They will be joined by this second mobile lab team, comprised of three additional scientists, in Kailahun, near the borders of Guinea and Liberia
“Infectious diseases do not respect borders. The mobile laboratory team will provide pivotal surge capacity to our existing team in the field and help our international partners stop the spread of this deadly disease,” Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada’s Chief Public Officer of Health, announced in a statement Saturday.
Canada’s Health Minister Rona Ambrose said the first mobile lab unit will continue to provide rapid diagnostic support to help local health care workers to quickly diagnose Ebola. The second mobile laboratory will work to monitor the effectiveness of infection prevention procedures, such as hand-washing stations, face masks, and disposal sites.
“We have some of the best scientists in the world dealing with this, so sending them over to help with diagnosing and containing is absolutely one of the best and most fundamental things we can do to help with this outbreak,” said Ambrose in an interview with CTV News.
The benefit of this on-site laboratory is that it produces results in only a few hours, which is pivotal in responding effectively to an outbreak of Ebola, as it allows for faster isolation of Ebola cases and patient care.
“It can actually perform up to 30 diagnoses a day, which is fundamental to containing the virus, because if we can diagnose it quickly, we can then contain it, we can isolate those patients, and we can get them treatment,” Ambrose said.
Ambrose said Canada is well-prepared, with a number of systems in place to identify and prevent the spread of serious infectious diseases like Ebola, here at home.
“Our government will continue to ensure Canadians are protected and safe and that we continue to assist in this devastating outbreak. Canadians can be proud of the efforts we are doing to help fight this outbreak. Today’s announcement of a second mobile lab and team is another example of actions we are taking,” Ambrose said in a statement.
According to the latest assessment from the World Health Organization, 3,431 people have died of Ebola in West Africa since the outbreak began.
With files from The Canadian Press
