20 Indonesian staff in Singapore for lab training on bird flu diagnosis

18 Jul 2006

As part of the on-going bilateral assistance package extended by Singapore to Indonesia to help in its fight against the threat of Avian Influenza, the Ministry of Health Singapore conducted a 5-day training course for 20 Indonesian laboratory staff from the Jakarta-based National Institute of Health Research and Development and eight other regional laboratories in Indonesia.

The course held from 10 to 14th July was to equip participants with the knowledge and practical skills of using state of the art technologies for laboratory diagnosis of the Avian Influenza infection in humans. For example, during the course, participants were given hands-on experience on the laboratory technique using Polymerase Chain Reaction, a highly accurate test procedure for diagnosing avian influenza. They also visited the Genome Institute of Singapore when they were given an overview of the organization and the work conducted there. Equipped with the latest know-how, these participants in turn would be able to train their fellow colleagues back in Indonesia.

Many of the participants gave their thumbs up for the course. One participant said "The course provided an opportunity for laboratory staff from both sides to interact professionally and network." Another summed up by saying that the course is useful for their work and "it serves as a useful platform to further bilateral collaboration between the two countries in fighting the Avian Influenza threat"

The five day course was held at the DSO National Laboratories. The training course is part of an assistance package which covers training, scientific collaboration and technical support to help Indonesia in surveillance, diagnostics, outbreak management and infection control.

The training programme also allows Singapore to learn much from the Indonesian participants on professional matters.