The University of the West Indies (UWI) Development and Endowment Fund (UWIDEF) recently presented a US$25,000 cheque to principal and pro-vice chancellor of UWI Mona, Professor Archibald McDonald, in support of UWI’s membership in the Global Virus Network (GVN).

UWIDEF in a news release said it will partner with UWI Mona to inform the public of the need for GVN and Jamaica’s membership, and help raise funds to support treatment facilities and diagnostic and research equipment.

UWI Mona, under the urging of Professor John Lindo, deputy dean of research in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, and Professor Terrence Forrester, chief scientist, Solutions for Developing Countries, and in full partnership with the Ministry of Health, have paved the way for UWI to gain membership in the GVN as an immediate response to the threat of emerging viral infections. Through this membership, UWIDEF said Jamaica will benefit from research collaboration with leading virologists globally have access to training programmes and workshops to strengthen local expertise while building a globally minded workforce of the future.

The Global Virus Network is a coalition of leading virologists in 26 countries working to advance knowledge about how viruses make us sick, and to develop drugs and vaccines to prevent illness and death.

With emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases accounting for a considerable portion of the global burden of diseases, viruses hold the power to cause pandemics with devastating consequences. No other entity has the depth and breadth of expertise as GVN, covering every virus-causing disease, the release said.

According to UWIDEF, Jamaica’s present capacity to undertake research to detect and treat viral diseases requires significant improvement.

“The devastating epidemics of chikungunya and dengue, and the impending epidemic of Zika virus are examples which have a direct effect on the region’s health, service and tourism sector,” the release said.

UWI is the ideal site for the GVN Centre of Excellence as it hosts Jamaica’s only Virology Laboratory and Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, which is designed to grow and contain highly pathogenic viruses safely. The Department of Microbiology at UWI has been designated as the official national testing site for viruses such as the Zika virus, and also does testing for dengue, chikungunya and all other health viruses.

Dr Robert Gallo, co-founder of GVN, said at the launch of the Zika Task Force on February 11, 2016, that: “GVN’s mission includes accelerating research from our centres of excellence… Having said that, people constantly ask scientists to move faster, act quicker. To them I suggest investing more in research to advance laboratory discoveries so that when acute outbreaks such as Zika or Ebola occur, public health officials are better prepared. We need to be — and we can be — on the offense, not defence.”

As pandemics cannot be predicted, Jamaica needs to be in a position to protect itself from future possible viruses as well, including Ebola, UWIDEF said.