MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CMC) – Laboratory specialist from Jamaica and Belize were among specialists from 11 Latin America and Caribbean countries that participated in a training programme organised by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC).

PAHO said that the programme was aimed at improving the detection of influenza viruses circulating in the region and formed part of the regional network of influenza laboratories and the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS).

The international course on molecular diagnostics of influenza, which ended yesterday, was part of “a joint effort to better prepare ourselves to deal with the flu,” said José Narro Robles, Secretary of Health of Mexico.

PAHO said the influenza virus causes outbreaks and infections all over the world, noting that during the influenza “season,” up to 15 per cent of the population can be affected, leading to up to 500,000 deaths each year.

As well as this, PAHO said the emergence of a new strain of influenza virus has the potential to generate pandemics, leading to both sickness and death.

“This course not only allows us to increase the response capacity of laboratories in the region, but it also enables us to strengthen surveillance processes and the molecular detection of new strains of influenza virus as soon as possible,” said Jairo Mendez, PAHO’s regional advisor on Viral Diseases.

According to Mendez, these actions are not only key to defining patterns of circulation and evolution, but also generate the data necessary to decide the composition of annual influenza vaccines.