The reporter learned from the Chinese government's health and epidemic prevention team to Myanmar on the 22nd that the team completed the construction of temporary laboratory platforms and equipment debugging in Mandalay, Myanmar on the 21st, improved the temporary testing plan and workflow, and began to simulate the detection of respiratory disease specimens.

  Chen Lei, leader of the Chinese government’s health and epidemic prevention team to Myanmar and deputy director of the Emergency Response Department of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, introduced that the platform is currently operating normally and has 80 laboratory testing capabilities including 44 etiology projects (including cholera, dengue fever, malaria, etc.), 19 drinking water-related projects, and 17 food poisoning projects. "We have conducted 12 microbial and physical and chemical indicators including total colony count, total coliform bacteria, residual chlorine, etc. on the school environment and the surrounding environmental samples of the team." Chen Lei said.

  The Chinese government's health and epidemic prevention team to Myanmar has built a laboratory in a Chinese school in Mandalay. Photo by Shao Linjian

  It is reported that the laboratory is specially equipped with specific rapid detection kits such as cholera and plague and colloidal gold reagents. Some of the projects can produce results in just 15-30 minutes. In addition, multi-respiratory pathogen detection reagents, multiple intestinal pathogen detection reagents, etc. are expected to play a role in improving detection efficiency and quickly locking pathogens.

  Members of the Chinese government’s health and epidemic prevention team to Myanmar carry out testing work in the laboratory. Photo by Shao Linjian

  Some laboratory testing equipment (image photos) Photo by Shao Linjian

  On April 19, a group of 50 people from the Chinese government’s health and epidemic prevention team brought health emergency supplies and equipment to Myanmar from Kunming to assist the local government in carrying out post-disaster health and epidemic prevention work. On the 20th, the team arrived at the Mandalay Province, the worst-hit province in Myanmar, 11 hours by car from Yangon. After arriving, the team overcame the harsh conditions of high temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and the raging mosquitoes and flies, and quickly entered the working state. The 50 team members were divided into eight groups, including the monitoring and evaluation and disease control group, laboratory testing group, vector disinfection and environmental sanitation group, and other eight groups. (Reporter Yue Ranran)

[Editor in charge: Qiu Lifang]