PHNOM PENH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The French-run Institut Pasteur in Cambodia (IPC) said it is fully committed to working together with Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) to combat COVID-19 in the country, according to a statement on Wednesday.
The Phnom Penh-based institute is designated as the first-line laboratory for the diagnosis of COVID-19 by the Cambodian MoH, the institute said in a statement.
Utilizing its BLS-3-level biosafety and biosecurity capacity in conjunction with multiple diagnostic tests, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) interim guidance, IPC has implemented, validated, and ensured diagnostic capacity to identify and respond to COVID-19 in Cambodia, the statement said.
It added that working closely with the Cambodian Center for Disease Control (CDC), the coordinating entity designated for notification of suspected cases, (nasal and throat) swab samples from suspected cases are sent and processed to IPC in a timely manner.
"All samples are subjected to testing according to validated protocols and suspected cases, and are tested with multiple diagnostic tests to ensure validity," IPC's director Dr. Laurence Baril said in the statement.
She said on Jan. 27, the IPC confirmed the first and only COVID-19 case in Cambodia in a traveler visiting Cambodia from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The country has received 55 notifications (61 samples) of suspected cases and 8 close contacts (11 samples) through this notification alert system, according to the statement.
On Feb. 12, the IPC was asked to support the MoH for activities outside the notification alert system to allow for the docking and disembarkation of passengers from the virus-hit Westerdam cruise ship.
Initially, 20 swab samples from symptomatic individuals from the Westerdam were tested negative, the statement said, adding that 1,580 samples from asymptomatic Westerdam passengers were also tested negative for COVID-19.
Besides, IPC has also contributed to testing samples from 36 symptomatic crew from the World Dream cruise ship and from 41 symptomatic Cambodian students who study in China, with all samples tested negative.
"The IPC continues to offer support and to work closely with Cambodian CDC/MoH and continues to receive and test suspected cases of COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Cambodia as well as to continue to increase diagnostic capacity and validate new testing kits," Dr. Baril said.
She said the institute is happy to help and support the fight of COVID-19 throughout Cambodia, the Southeast Asia region, and the globe.
