Panama to get diagnostics boost in US pandemic preparedness MOU:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Panamanian government, Panama's Gorgas Memorial Institute (GMI) and the US Health and Human Services (HHS) department are to extend co-operation in the areas of pandemic preparedness and wider healthcare development. A memorandum of understanding signed by Panama's health minister, Dr Jorge Motta, GMI director general Dr Camilo Allenye and HHS secretary Mike Leavitt on April 14 focuses on improving surveillance, such as by increasing the capacity of the laboratory testing services, and speeding up the response, including the diagnosis, epidemiological investigation and control of disease. The GMI specialises in research in the fields of tropical medicine and health management. US interest in the agreement is based on the fact that Panama is seen as a gateway to human and bird migration from South America and therefore potentially instrumental in helping to monitor and contain an influenza pandemic.