KARACHI:Sindh Health Department in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad is planning to establish a state-of-the-art Virology Laboratory to detect various types of viral diseases in future.
Secretary Health Sindh Zahid Ali Abbasi, while talking to PPI, said Sindh Health Department has decided to setup a modern Virology Lab in next fiscal-year 2021-2022 with the support of with NIH to deal viral diseases like bird flu, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Chikungunya, Coronavirus, Zika virus, Influenza, Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), dengue and other viral diseases.
He said the federal government has started screening of foreigners coming from different countries particularly from China for detection of viral diseases cases following outbreak of Corona-virus in two province of China. He said federal and Sindh government have also issued health advisory about Corona-virus cases.
Zahid Abbasi said Sindh government has also alerted the Provincial Disease Surveillance Unit and major public and private hospitals to deal any eventuality in the province.
He informed that Sindh government has already established a DNA laboratory in the province in recent past.
He said Corona-virus was first time reported in China and there was no research available at international level to deal this viral disease; however, federal and Sindh government have enhanced monitoring to deal the situation effectively.