Guyana to implement surveillance system to track, diagnose respiratory viruses

Guyana will be implementing an integrated surveillance system at regional hospitals to effectively obtain data to track, respond, and diagnose respiratory viruses like influenza.

This undertaking is a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation-World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).

This was highlighted by Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, during the PAHO sentinel site and laboratory workshop on Wednesday at the Windjammer Hotel in Kitty, Georgetown.

The health minister explained that the crucial software will enhance surveillance services countrywide and ensure a coordinated response, for the first time.

“We have several databases and sometimes it takes some time for us to analyse what we have in those databases. And we are not able to draw from it, the information that we need to respond to in a timely manner. The hope is that in the next couple years, we will have one system that would be able to respond to all our needs,” Dr Anthony pointed out.

There are currently four sentinel sites in the country which will increase in the coming months, since Guyana has more than 22 hospitals at the district level.

The aim is to expand the services offered at the medical institutions, and the new system will help to distinguish between flu and other illnesses, providing accurate numbers and enabling appropriate community responses.

Furthermore, Guyana will be constructing six more modern hospitals by the end of 2024, which are expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2025.

Dr Anthony emphasised that building out of these systems will also help Guyana to be fully prepared for future pandemics.

“We haven’t done this before. We need to be able to understand what is happening. As we speak, not a lot of countries have a system of tracking viruses or bacteria in the population. And that is something that we are working to build out to come up with a plan,” Dr Anthony said.

Meanwhile, the three-day workshop which began on Tuesday aims to educate staff on sentinel surveillance, data entry, case follow-up in the PAHO Flu system, and to enhance system functionality at both national and site levels. Minister Anthony charged the medical professionals to pay keen attention to the concepts of the surveillance system, as Guyana continues to transform the way data is generated.