Examples of One Health co-operation in COVID-19 diagnostics:

Our world faces the COVID-19 global pandemic, and many One Health EJP consortium partners have key roles in managing the situation at national level across Europe.

For example, FAO has recognised that enormous processivity is needed for the diagnostic capacity required. Veterinary laboratories have an extraordinary experience in the diagnosis of infectious diseases also in emergency situations and can therefore be tremendously supportive in this. In this series of ‘Examples of One Health co-operation in COVID-19 diagnostics’, we highlight how One Health co-operation has been established across Europe.

VISAVET-UCM, Spain:

The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has setup a network of laboratories composed of different faculties (including the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and research centres (including the VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre) with the aim of helping the diagnosis of COVID-19 in this epidemic crisis, and in which specialists in health, infectious diseases and molecular biology from different research groups and UCM centres provide PCR equipment and staff.

The UCM has started the analysis of samples for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 where VISAVET is responsible for the reception and extraction of all RNA samples and other organisations as Saluvet Innova, the Antimicrobial Resistance Unit and Molecular Basis of Adaptation laboratories perform the identification by Real Time PCR.

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