Final meeting of the JICA/AMED SATREPS project for “Development of Innovative Research Technique in Genetic Epidemiology of Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases in Lao PDR for Containment of Their Expanding Endemicity” was held at Lao Plaza Hotel on 2nd April 2019, to disseminate outcomes of this five-years project. Dr. Shigeyuki Kano, SATREPS chief advisor from National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), Japan and Dr. Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, Director General of Department of Communicable Diseases Control (DCDC), Ministry of Health (MOH) chaired the meeting.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the MOH, Laos started a unique technical cooperation project on parasitology research in Laos on May 2014, in collaboration with Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). This project promoted joint research between Laos and Japan under the scheme of Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS). This project was implemented at Institut Pasteur du Laos (IPL), MOH, led by Dr. Paul Brey, Project Manager of the SATREPS and Director of IPL, with kind support of Dr. Bouasy Hongvanthong, Project Director of the SATREPS and ex-Director of Center of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (CMPE), the MOH.
In this project, three important parasitic diseases in Laos, namely, Malaria, Schistosomiasis (blood fluke) and Opisthorchiasis (liver fluke) were targeted and many outcomes were produced. For example, high-sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods (PCR and LAMP methods) were developed, and many asymptomatic malaria carriers in the endemic areas were discovered by them. Rapid spreading of the drug (artemisinin) resistant malaria from the south to the north, even in Phongsaly province is another big finding through the SATREPS. In addition, the project discovered the first case of human infection with monkey malaria parasite (Plasmodium knowlesi) from Attapeu province. These findings are utilized for improving or updating national strategic plans for control and elimination of the diseases in Laos and the Mekong region.
The project not only promoted research but also strengthened capacity of healthcare workers in the provinces where the diseases were endemic, and improved monitoring system of the parasitic diseases in the country, by collaborating with the MOH and WHO. The project will be terminated on the end of April 2019. However, the Japanese researchers, JICA, Neopharma Japan, and Eiken company Japan will collaboratively continue to support Laos for achieving Malaria elimination by 2030.
