(TAP) - Director of the Institut Pasteur Hechmi Louzir said Tuesday that genome sequencing devices have been provided to Charles Nicolle Hospital and the Institut Pasteur, as part of the 'Med Net' project which started in 2020 in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Italian Embassy, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Italian Institute Teramo.

Louzir said during a scientific day held at the WHO office in Tunis on Tuesday, that training will be provided to doctors working in these two institutions for the use of this equipment, pointing out that the Med Net project, which started in 2020 in concomitance with the COVID-19 pandemic aims to strengthen the capacity of Tunisian doctors in genome sequencing.

He said that Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir and Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in Sfax will also be equipped with similar genome sequencing equipment.

WHO representative in Tunis Ibrahim El-Zik stressed the importance of using sequencing techniques to identify the different strains of viruses and bacteria in order to fight and prevent the spread of viruses during pandemics.

'This project will make it possible to set up a Mediterranean network of information and exchange of experiences in the field of public health and to fight against any pandemics that may emerge,' he added.

tap.info