U.S. AMBASSADOR INAUGURATES BIOSAFETY EQUIPMENT

Today the Central Sanitary Epidemiological Station (SES) in Kyiv U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, William B. Taylor held a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate the diagnostic and biosafety equipment provided by the United States as part of the Biological Threat Reduction Program between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The ceremony celebrated the installation of state-of-the-art epidemiological monitoring station equipment at the Central SES. The DoD is also financing building improvements to upgrade the ventilation and fire safety systems.

Parallel to this effort, the U.S. Government has provided similar equipment to the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Kyiv and the Academy of Agrarian Science’s Institute of Experimental Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkiv. These equipment deliveries, coupled with on-going DoD-provided epidemiological and diagnostic training for Ukrainian medical professionals, will enhance Ukraine's ability to detect, diagnose and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, such as Avian Influenza, anthrax, tularemia, etc rapidly, safely and accurately.

Through the Biological Threat Reduction Program the DoD works jointly with the Ukraine’s Ministry of Health to:

- strengthen pathogen detection and response networks,
- enhance Ukraine's ability to detect, diagnose and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, whether they be natural outbreaks that could be exploited by bioterrorists or outbreaks caused by bioterrorists,
- consolidate Ukraine's highly infectious pathogens into a safe, secure centralized repository,
- provide biosecurity and biosafety upgrades at current laboratories,
- ensure the safe and secure storage and handling of highly infectious pathogens used for peaceful research to prevent accidental release, theft, and exposure.

As part of the DoD and the Ministry of Health's efforts to enhance Ukraine's threat agent detection and response system, DoD is establishing two state-of-the-art epidemiological monitoring stations, one at the Central Sanitary Epidemiological Station and the other at the Lviv Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene to enhance regional disease surveillance capabilities. The Ministry of Health designated the Ukrainian Research & Anti-Plague Institute (URAPI) in Odessa as the site for the Interim Central Reference Laboratory and pathogen repository.

During Senator Richard Lugar’s recent visit to Ukraine, the Senator discussed additional funding and expansion of the program, as well as the site selection for a permanent Central Reference Laboratory in Ukraine.

The U.S. Government considers Ukraine a strategic partner in combating bioterrorism and preventing pathogens from falling into the hands of terrorists or states desiring biological weapons. The advent of Avian Influenza is underscores an increasing concern of the need to work together to defeat global health threats.