AMP and Côte d’Ivoire Strengthen Their Collaboration With the Launch of a Mobile Laboratory

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, October 13, 2010 – The Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP), the National Institute of Public Hygiene (INHP), and the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire (IPCI) announced today the launch of a mobile microbiology laboratory (LaboMobil©) to strengthen epidemic disease surveillance and health monitoring in Côte d’Ivoire.

The mobile laboratory is an all-terrain vehicle outfitted with laboratory equipment (laminar flow hood, incubator, centrifuge, refrigerator, fluorescent microscope). It has its own energy and water sources. A supplementary tool for reference laboratories, the LaboMobil© provides critical support to microbiological surveillance of potentially epidemic diseases such as cholera and acute bacterial meningitis.

Due to its mobility, the LaboMobil© allows rapid and reliable identification of the etiology of diarrheal and meningitis epidemics. It goes directly to suspected households, including those located in remote districts, to perform immediate, on-site microbiological diagnosis, thus reducing the delay in the implementation of appropriate, effective, and rapid outbreak responses (vaccination campaigns, preventive measures, adequate patient treatment, etc.).

After the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene of Côte d’Ivoire expressed interest in having a mobile laboratory, AMP partnered with INHP and IPCI to deploy and manage Côte d’Ivoire’s first LaboMobil©. The collaborative project, entitled “Support for diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance in Côte d’Ivoire,” has the following objectives:
1. To ensure a rapid and precise diagnosis of the causes of epidemiological alerts while strengthening the capacity of district laboratory technicians through training, retraining and formative supervision in sampling, conditioning, transport, and analysis of biological specimens.
2. To contribute to operational research on potentially epidemic diseases by conducting epidemiological and microbiological field studies.

The new mobile laboratory, conceived by AMP and assembled in Germany by the company Robel®, is the third prototype to be used in West Africa. The first two prototypes, developed by AMP in 2003 and 2005, are both used in Burkina Faso.

This project strengthens the cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and AMP initiated in 1972 with then President Auguste Denise, renewed in Yamoussoukro in 1994 at the 4th International Seminar on Vaccinations in Africa (SIVAC), and reinforced in 1995 with “EPIGEPS,” a course in epidemiology and health program management for district-level medical officers. Since 1997, this collaboration has taken the form of a close working relationship with INHP in preventive vaccination campaigns against yellow fever and meningitis as well as field epidemiology training. In 2000, AMP opened a regional office in Abidjan to develop projects of international scope in partnership with the Ministry of Health, INHP, IPCI, the National Blood Transfusion Center (CNTS), and the University of Cocody-Abidjan:

• Between 2001 and 2003, AMP coordinated a study on hepatitis B vaccination in Abidjan to determine an optimal infant immunization schedule.
• Since 2002, about 60 Ivoirians have participation in EPIVAC©, a master’s degree program in vaccinology and health services management for district-level medical officers.

This program is implemented by AMP in partnership with governments of beneficiary countries and the universities of Cocody-Abidjan and Paris-Dauphine (France) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the GAVI Alliance, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the vaccine industry (Sanofi Pasteur), and other African immunization partners. The EPIVAC International Network (EPINET), a professional network of former EPIVAC© participants involved in epidemiology and vaccination in Africa, was created in the context of this program. In 2009, a national branch of EPINET was set up in Côte d’Ivoire.

Finally, with the support of the AMP-led “SIVAC” Initiative, Côte d’Ivoire established in January 2010 the “National Committee of Independent Experts for Immunization and Vaccines in Côte d’Ivoire” (CNEIV-CI), thus becoming the first GAVI-eligible African country to have a National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG).

About AMP

Founded in 1972, AMP is a nonprofit organization with headquarters at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and offices in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Vietnam. AMP is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of those most in need across the globe. Along with our public- and private-sector partners, we aim to:
• Enhance scientific knowledge in support of evidence-based health policies
• Strengthen immunization service delivery, logistics, and innovation
• Develop human and institutional capacity for improved health system performance

About the National Institute of Public Hygiene (INHP)

The INHP, a public administrative establishment, was created by decree No. 91-656 of October 8, 1991. In accordance with Article 3, its missions are as follows:
▪ Application of the national health policy in regards to general hygiene
▪ Disease prevention and control of transmissible, bacterial, viral, and parasitical endemics
▪ National technical direction of the Expanded Program on Immunization
▪ Carrying out of teaching and research activities
As part of its second mission, INHP coordinates integrated disease surveillance and response at national level and acts as the focal point for International Health Regulations (IHR).
For more information, please visit: www.inhp.ci

About the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire (IPCI)

Created by law No. 72-511 of July 27, 1972 and following decree No. 91-645 of October 9, 1991, the IPCI is a public industrial and commercial establishment. In the context of the fight against transmissible diseases, the IPCI houses national reference centers whose mandate is to provide (interdepartmental ordinance No. 393 of June 21, 2006):
• Expertise on the biology of infectious agents
• Epidemiological surveillance
• Early warning information on sanitation risks to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene
• Microbiological monitoring of infectious agents
• Conservation and containment of infectious agents
• Advice to public authorities and health professionals on infectious agents
For more information, please visit: www.pasteur-international.org

About EPIVAC©

Established in 2002 as a Sanofi Pasteur contribution to the GAVI Alliance, EPIVAC© is a professional training program in vaccinology and health services management for district-level medical officers in Africa. Conceived and implemented by AMP, the program brings together universities, international organizations, participating countries, bilateral agencies, and the vaccine industry in a public-private institutional and university partnership in support of immunization strengthening in GAVI-eligible countries. The objective is to improve immunization program performance by strengthening the technical and managerial skills of 50 district-level medical officers each year and by providing technical support to countries.
For more information, please visit: www.epivac.org

About the EPIVAC International Network (EPINET)

Created in 2007, EPINET contributes to improving the performance of immunization programs in GAVI-eligible African countries through networking. The 250 members include former EPIVAC participants as well as experts in public health, immunization, and health systems management. The network’s main missions include: providing technical support to countries; mobilizing resources through advocacy and fundraising; promoting operational research and scientific communication; and providing continued education to network members.
For more information, please visit: www.rie.epivac.org

About SIVAC

The SIVAC (Supporting Independent Immunization and Vaccine Advisory Committees) Initiative, established in 2008, aims to enhance the use of evidence-based data in the development of national immunization policies and programs. This is achieved through the creation or strengthening of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs). SIVAC works in GAVI-eligible and middle-income countries in all World Health Organization (WHO) regions except the Americas. Implemented by AMP in collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), based in Seoul, South Korea, the SIVAC Initiative is funded by a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
For more information, please visit: www.sivacinitiative.org