Muscat,
The Ministry of Health, represented by the Public Health Laboratories Department, celebrated today the inauguration of the mobile standard laboratory for environmental diagnostic testing of the poliovirus in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
In a speech, His Excellency Dr. Said bin Harib Al-Lamki, Undersecretary for Health Affairs at the Ministry of Health and patron of the event, emphasized the constructive cooperation and strategic partnership between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization in various health programs and initiatives, including efforts to monitor and eradicate poliomyelitis.
For his part, His Excellency Dr. Jan Jabbour, WHO Representative in the Sultanate of Oman, affirmed that the opening of the laboratory reflects Oman’s commitment to eradicating poliomyelitis globally. With this, Oman joins the ranks of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization that implement environmental surveillance. He pointed out that the laboratory not only helps in detecting the poliovirus in sewage water but also serves as an early warning system for the transmission of the virus.
The mobile standard laboratory for environmental diagnostic testing of the poliovirus is accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of environmental surveillance systems; it detects the poliovirus in environmental water samples, such as sewage.
The laboratory represents a new step towards enhancing the quality of health services in the Sultanate of Oman, and its inauguration reflects the Ministry of Health’s ongoing commitment to improving diagnostic capabilities and epidemiological surveillance, contributing to the enhancement of community health by testing stool samples from children with acute flaccid paralysis or symptoms similar to poliomyelitis from countries in the region.
Health laboratories are a cornerstone in the efforts to combat infectious diseases and enhance rapid response to epidemics and health challenges. Through this project, the Ministry of Health aims to provide a modern infrastructure equipped with the latest technologies and global standards, enabling the delivery of accurate, high-quality laboratory services.
The environmental surveillance system for the poliovirus aims to strengthen the monitoring of poliomyelitis in the Sultanate of Oman. Its establishment will complement the surveillance system for acute flaccid paralysis to enhance and strengthen poliomyelitis monitoring and ensure early detection of the poliovirus in humans or the environment.
Environmental surveillance is one of the important roles undertaken by the Laboratories Department and is an effective tool for monitoring the spread of the poliovirus by analyzing sewage water, allowing for the detection of the virus even in the absence of paralysis cases. This enables a rapid response to any potential discovery of the virus, and this technique has been successfully used to monitor the spread of the virus and assess its persistence or duration in specific populations.
It is worth noting that the Public Health Laboratories Department plays significant roles at both national and regional levels, especially in the field of emerging and re-emerging diseases, as it serves as a regional reference laboratory for poliomyelitis.
