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June 15 is ASEAN Dengue Day

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrates the ASEAN Dengue Day every 15^th of June since its declaration in 2011. According to the World Health organization (WHO), the celebration aims to raise awareness on dengue, mobilize resources for its prevention and control, and demonstrate the region’s commitment to tackling the disease.

While the Department of Health (DOH) announced last January that there is a steady decline in cases of dengue in the country, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque reminded the public to not be complacent, remain vigilant, and sustain the gains of the enhanced 4S strategy to keep dengue at bay.

To further mitigate the threat of dengue, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) continues to support the DOH by funding relevant studies to improve the dengue situation in the country. Some of these studies are:

The Performance of an Innovative Auto Dissemination of Insecticides (InDAI) for Dengue Mosquito Control in the Philippines Program which aims to evaluate the efficacy of the InDAI trap in the reduction of mosquito densities in selected cities in the National Capital Region.

The Aedes Genomics Adaptation Program that investigates the genomic underpinnings of Aedes species’ adaptation to extreme temperature conditions. To date, the program is the first to publish the full genome of a female Aedes aegypti - a piece of data which will be key to understanding vector biology.

A program on Philippine land use change and arbovirus diversity surveillance and monitoring of viral pathogens in the country which sought to investigate how land use change in Barangays Bagong Silang, Lalakay, and Bayog in Los Baños, Laguna, have affected the transmission of dengue within the communities.

In the spirit of awareness, the Council encourages everyone to follow simple but effective steps like removing or covering all areas with stagnant water, installing screens on windows, using mosquito repellants, and wearing long-sleeved shirts when outdoors.

Sources:

https://www.who.int/philippines/news/feature-stories/detail/asean-dengue-day-the-philippines-leads-efforts-in-dengue-control-and-prevention

https://www.doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/doh-reports-steady-decline-in-dengue-cases

https://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resource/first-asean-dengue-day-with-inauguration-of-the-environmental-health-institute-as-a-who-collaborating-centre_1.pdf

DOST-R02, NAST-Phl COLLAB COVID WEBINAR, A SUCCESS

Six hundred seventy nine (679) participants nationwide joined the webinar that was co-hosted by the Department of Science and Technology Region 02 (DOST-RO2) with the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Philippines entitled “COVID-19: Where we are and where we want to be” via Zoom on May 27, 2020.

This webinar series is part of the adaption of the DOST-RO2 to the New Normal brought by the pandemic.

“We are gearing up for the prioritization of virtual activities, let us not be complacent, let us be proactive.”, said DOST-RO2 Director Engr. Sancho A. Mabborang during his Opening Remarks in said well-attended webinar.

NAST Philippines Director Luningning Samarita-Domingo said that they hope the participants will further understand the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and it help them realize the efforts of DOST and other institutions in controlling the pandemic through this webinar.

NAST Academician Antonio Miguel L. Dans discussed the Scientific evidence for treatment, testing, and public health intervention.

He pointed out that there is no drug proven yet that can cure COVID-19, hence, proposed drugs are still undergoing clinical trials that would run for a long amount of time.

He also explained the real definition of Mass Testing which does not mean to test the whole population in the country but to get samples from the individuals that are already manifesting symptoms.

Further, Academician Dans said that that a simple inquiry of what a person feels is already a form of testing within the called 14-Days Standard Testing.

On the other hand, Academician Jaime C. Montoya discussed the Overview on COVID-19: A Global Pandemic wherein efforts and programs of DOST agencies like the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Philippine Council for Industry and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCHRD), and Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) were being highlighted.

He also explained the DOST FASSSTER and Tanod Covid applications that are relevant in decision making.

He also discussed , the Rxbox, Sanipod, Specimen Collection Booth, and AMPliFieD technologies which are all initiatives of PCHRD-DOST with various partners to help combat the spread of the virus.

Moreover, Acd. Montoya shared the initiatives of PCAARRD-DOST like the Galing PCARRD Component programs that ensure that food and nutrition are still up and above at this time of pandemic by fulfilling its agri-aqua goals.

Lastly, he shared the efforts of PCIEERD-DOST which include the Mobile AI Thermal Scanners, Nano-Technology Enhanced Hand Sanitizers, 3D printed face-shields, Big Data Analytics for Quarantine Policies, and Pinoy Animation laban sa Covid-19.

Written by: Mary Margarette B. Marvas

COVID-19 telepresence device connects frontliners to patients, patients to loved ones

Health care workers in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) can now connect with their patients without physically being present in COVID wards, thanks to telepresence devices that “limit exposure, conserve personal protective equipment (PPE), and provide clear communication with a friendly face.”

These telepresence devices not only help nurses and doctors, anxious and lonely patients isolated from their families and moral support system can also remotely communicate with their loved ones during their fight to survive the disease.

This technology solution was developed by the University of the Philippines Manila – College of Medicine Surgical Innovation and Biotechnology Laboratory or UPM-CM SIBOL COVID Task Force composed of collaborating clinicians from UP Manila and engineers, scientists, and artists from UP Diliman funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).

“COVID-19 is projected to require a massive inventory of medical supplies. This was the impetus for us to convene the SIBOL COVID Task Force,” according to Dr. Edward Wang, lead of the SIBOL team. The Task Force, recently formed to support the fight against coronavirus pandemic, is composed of three teams working on Disinfection, PPE, and Telemonitoring.

SIBOL, a Filipino term for germination, is an existing program of DOST-PCHRD which originally aims to “use locally sourced material and technology to produce much needed surgical and medical devices in the country” (Wang, 2020).

The telepresence device is the first SIBOL product deployed by the team at PGH after two weeks of collaboration. “Inspired by triage booths initially set-up to screen ambulatory patients, the team led by Dr. Nathaniel Orillaza Jr. (Orthopedics), Dr. Pros Naval (Computer Science), and Dr. Luis Sison and Dr. Roel Ocampo (Electronics & Electrical Engineering Institute) assembled devices which allowed health care workers to connect to patients remotely,” said Dr. Wang.

The telepresence devices are “computers programmed to automatically answer calls from authorized accounts using available teleconferencing and remote-control applications, thus minimizing contamination and allowing effortless access even by patients with no technological know-how.” Materials used for initial deployment were sponsored by Xavier School Class of 1975 while wooden stands were designed, manufactured, and subsidized by Projektzulu Co. The team also acknowledges the Department of Orthopedics for providing headquarters and logistical support for this SIBOL Telemonitoring project.

Reference:

https://www1.upm.edu.ph/node/2997?fbclid=IwAR3JV8ktjh6avdiU0i31s51UitkFtYADgAqsSSj1vm3RlTzYkjuOfC5cpLo

Written by Christine Jane M. Gonzalez

DOST completes delivery of COVID-19 specimen collection booths to hospitals, healthcare facilities

To accelerate COVID-19 mass testing in the Philippines while protecting frontline healthcare workers during specimen collection, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) delivered and installed 132 specimen collection booths (SCBs) to 89 DOH-identified hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country.

As of May 23, the booths were successfully distributed to nine cities in NCR and 37 provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Fabrication of the SCBs was facilitated since April by Mr. Augusto Martinez III and his team at the Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise (FAME) Inc.

Inspired by the telephone booth-style swab collection facilities in other Asian countries, the SCB is equipped with a transparent front window, ventilation, and caster wheels for easier mobility. For added safety and protection, it also comes with pressure and infrared temperature sensors which can be used for remote monitoring of the patient and separate disinfection agents inside and outside the swab booth.

Each booth contains two holes at the front panel which allows the healthcare worker, in proper PPE, to collect the patient’s samples. Five minutes is then allotted to disinfect the booth before receiving the next patient.

Designed to reduce the exposure of frontline health workers to suspected COVID-19 patients, the fabrication and distribution of SCBs were sponsored by DOST-attached agencies, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD). The Philippine Coast Guard provided assistance in the delivery of some of the units to Visayas and Mindanao.

The recipients of SCBs also received instructional materials, videos, and document manuals on how to install and use the booths. The design was also made available publicly for free and disseminated through the DOST Regional Offices, in case other entities would like to fabricate their own booths.

The public can access the design through this link:http://pcieerd.dost.gov.ph/library/fame-design.

Source: http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6557-dost-completes-delivery-of-covid-19-specimen-collection-booths-to-hospitals-healthcare-facilities

Written by Christine Jane M. Gonzalez

DOST-PCHRD supports AMPLiFieD System to ease bottleneck in COVID-19 testing

As the Philippines hopes to transition from the COVID-19-induced community quarantine to the new normal, it is imperative that targeted mass testing is in place in order to contain further spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus. While national and local efforts to source diagnostic kits have been successful, there is an imminent testing bottleneck in the country due to the lack of capable qPCR instruments on which to run these specialized kits.

Recognizing this problem, the Department of Science and Technology through the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) has signified support to the “Accelerated development of a cost-efficient microPCR (miPCR) and lateral flow diagnostic (LFD) system to enable expanded near-point-of-care testing for COVID-19” or the AMPLiFieD System to be developed by a multi-disciplinary team of biologists, clinicians and engineers led by Dr. Jeremie de Guzman, Dr. Keith Moore, and Mr. Ricardo Jose S. Guerrero, PhD Cand from the Ateneo Research Institute for Science and Engineering (ARISE).

The AMPLiFieD system will combine the outputs of two newly-initiated DOST-PCHRD supported projects ---the miPCR Project, a microfluidic PCR device for portable DNA/RNA amplification and the ADDS Project, an amplified DNA detection system based on low-cost lateral flow diagnostic (LFD) strips to selectively detect the viral nucleic acids that are the output of the miPCR device.

Once the team has fabricated the proof of concept devices, further validation and verification of these devices will be conducted to ensure reliability and robustness. If successful, AMPLiFieD could provide a functional alternative to commercial qPCR instruments at a significantly lower cost and a much smaller size. The availability of this alternative system can also potentially lead to creating more cost-effective, more distributed testing laboratories and provide the much-needed testing infrastructure for more responsive testing and tracing of suspected COVID-19 cases.

Source:http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6558-dost-pchrd-supports-amplified-system-to-ease-bottleneck-in-covid-19-testing

Written by Catherine Joy C. Dimailig