ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) is working to set up a National Reference Laboratory this year to address issues related to molecular diagnostics.

NIH Executive Director Dr Aamer Ikram told Dawn he is hopeful that the laboratory will be completed this year, “due to which the problem of diagnostics would be addressed across the country”.

“Currently, we hear that mysterious diseases have appeared in far-flung areas, but it becomes difficult to know the nature of the disease,” he added.

He said it is sometimes difficult to diagnose diseases, and samples have to be sent abroad to confirm the nature of a virus.

Such a laboratory would help address diagnostics issues across the country

“After establishing the lab, it will become possible to identify different viruses, such as the Zika virus, Chikungunya, etc, in Pakistan, and to start efforts to stop the virus from spreading,” he added.

Dr Ikram said the NIH has also drafted a bill on public health that has been sent to the government for approval. The bill would empower the NIH to catch-up with diseases, he explained.

“There are two basic steps after a virus surfaces, Incident Command and Emergency Response. Whenever a virus is detected, it is controlled through command management. We have got some machinery for the lab and others will be received soon. We are also collaborating with the World Health Organisation,” he said.

He said even health stakeholders are not aware of sample collection and how to transport samples to the NIH.

“We have trained staff, and things will improve in the future. We have been focusing on cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Typhoid fever is also an increasing issue in Pakistan and needs the health sector’s attention,” he said.

In March last year, then federal ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz had constituted a 10-member committee to study and formulate recommendations to establish a Bioequivalence and Bioavailability Laboratory (BEBAL) in Pakistan in response to public complaints about the lack of quality healthcare services.

This facility, when established, would provide assessments of the impact of various drugs produced in the country on user patients. It would be the first of its kind in the country for ensuring the availability of quality medicines and would help pharmaceutical laboratories determine the required effectiveness of various drugs.

Drugs are currently sent to similar laboratories abroad for such assessments, which drains considerable foreign exchange.

The committee was headed by former surgeon general of the Pakistan Army Dr Asif Mumtaz Sukhera and consisted of former Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan CEO Dr Mohammad Aslam, Dr Syed Khalid Saeed Bukhari of USAid, Prof Dr Zabita Khan Shinwari, Sardar Mohammad Yasin, Dr Sultan Ghani and others.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2019