Valerii Zaporozhan: laboratory equipment of ONMedU will be able to cover the needs of Odessa residents and neighboring areas for COVID-19 testing.

The Scientific Council of Odessa Medical University initiated the transfer of laboratory equipment and reagents for the PCR-testing for COVID-19 virus to the State Institution “Odessa Regional Laboratory Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine” as a.i.  Rector of ONMedU Ruslan Vastianov reported.

Considering the epidemiological situation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the introduction of active epidemiological search for cases by laboratory testing of biological material samples on SARS-CoV-2 from persons meeting the criteria of a suspected case, or in the framework of differential diagnosis for patients with viral pneumonia and / or SARS, the Center expects a significant increase in the burden on the immuno-virological laboratory with the diagnosis of AIDS and other especially dangerous viral infections of Odessa Regional Laboratory Centre in conducting diagnostic tests on COVID-19 for the needs of the health care institutions of the region. In this regard, it was decided and supported by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to transfer a set of equipment that will help to expand the diagnostic capabilities of the State Medical Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine using PCR devices.

The Chairman of the Academic Council Valery Zaporozhan noted that the equipment will be able to cover the needs of Odessa residents and neighboring areas for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 virus: “The success of Ukraine in overcoming the pandemic depends on the speed and accuracy of testing. Today, these are hundreds of lives that we all need to save. And our Odessa Medical University will never stay out of the way.”

Within the framework of ONMedU’s international cooperation with the scientists of the Universities of Ancona and Pescara, which, incidentally, are now at the epicenter of the epidemiological situation in Italy, a joint research project has been created, focused on the modern solution of problems of socially significant diseases, such as oncology diseases, metabolic syndrome, and, accordingly, the laboratory of molecular pathology was equipped. The laboratory was initially planned and created as a scientific and educational project for research and teaching of modern methods of laboratory diagnostics of future doctors and young scientists of the University. However, time is making its adjustments, and today, like our Italian counterparts, we are focused on conducting SARS-CoV-2 genetic PCR tests for patients in Odessa and Odessa region. We have also planned a genomic study of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which will allow us to identify the phylogenetic origin of the virus strain in the Southern region of Ukraine and to update COVID-19 global epidemiological data to further predict the possibility of spreading the virus and developing a systematic approach to profile approaches .

“The equipment of our molecular molecular pathology training laboratory meets all European standards. In his time, Valerii Zaporozhan initiated the creation of this laboratory so that our students could thoroughly study modern diagnostic options in clinical practice and, very importantly, learn how to correctly interpret the results obtained from real patients of the University Clinic. It is this integral competency approach in the preparation of the doctor that enables to develop compulsory clinical thinking and guarantees the qualitative training of competent specialists for work in the field of health care. Many bureaucratic obstacles had to be overcome to obtain the most up-to-date equipment. The laboratory is now fully operational and, with the agreement of the Ministry of Health, some of its equipment has been donated to combat COVID-19,” Vastianov explained.