Health authorities want UVRI Arua field station boosted to address sample delays

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health authorities in West Nile have urged the government to enhance the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) Arua field station so it can conduct tests for diseases beyond just Plague and Anthrax.

They argue that this expansion will help address the challenges of delays in receiving results for samples collected from the region, which are currently sent to the Central Public Health Laboratory in Kampala for testing and analysis.

The Laboratory Focal Person in Arua City, Acidri Gordon, states that results for samples from disease outbreaks are consistently delayed.

The UVRI Arua field station was established in 2004 to conduct clinical and diagnostic research on Plague. Although it later expanded to include testing for Anthrax, its capabilities remain restricted to these two diseases.

The Head of Public Health Emergency at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, Dr. Dradiku Christopher, explains that the hospital is limited to specific tests, despite the capacity of both the facility and the UVRI Arua field station.

However, Dr. Luke Nyakarahuka, the Senior Epidemiologist at Uganda Virus Research Institute’s Arua field station, reveals that the facility is currently only equipped to handle Plague and Anthrax and is also understaffed.

In 2017, a new laboratory was constructed at the station with support from the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) through the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) and Uganda Biosafety and Biosecurity.

*****

URN