THE Ministry of Health is working with the UNZA School of Veterinary Medicine in its Ebola national preparedness. The ministry has designated a laboratory under the Viral Zoonosis laboratory for testing and diagnosis of the Ebola virus . The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Zambia has been implementing a 5-year viral zoonosis project in Africa in conjunction with UNZA School of Veterinary Medicine. The project is responsible for conducting research on diseases that are transmitted from wild animals to human beings. Japanese resident representative Yoshihide Teranishi said the project is now supporting the Ebola preparedness through technical assistance from Japanese experts of Hokkaido University. “A biosafety level-3 containment facility has been established called Hokudai centre for control of zoonosis in Zambia which is used for our proposed projects and training personnel from UNZA, Zambia Wildlife Authority and other collaborative government ministries and organisations,” UNZAs Professor Aaron Mweene said. He said since 2005, the experts have been looking at Ebola virus in the Kasanka National Park when the bats gather, “We have not been able to find the Ebola virus but in some bats, there has been presence of very few anti-bodies, Professor Mweene. daily-mail.co.zm/index.php/local-news/item/8218-state-unza-in-ebola-prep-campaign
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 06:32:12 +0000