Noël Tordo, a specialist in viral hemorrhagic fevers within the Institut Pasteur, is to head up the Institut Pasteur of Guinea, which will be an independent department of the Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry.
On Monday September 21st, 2015 a protocol of agreement for the creation of the Institut Pasteur of Guinea was signed in Conakry between the Republic of Guinea and the Institut Pasteur. The Institut Pasteur of Guinea will be the 33rd member of the Institut Pasteur International Network, and will be set up in response to the requirements outlined by the authorities in Guinea following the Ebola crisis, with the express aim of addressing epidemic emergencies, actively monitoring infectious diseases and conducting research into such diseases, as well as training and supporting Guinean scientists in outbreak prevention initiatives.
Initial work will focus on diseases with epidemic potential, in particular arboviruses and hemorrhagic fever viruses, which have been responsible for a number of major outbreaks in Guinea (Ebola, Lassa fever, yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, influenza, etc.).
The first two research units will focus on Virology and Entomology, and will offer first-rate diagnostic platforms. They will provide training for students, technicians and laboratory managers in expert diagnostics and good laboratory practices. In addition, research programs will enhance epidemiological monitoring in association with laboratories across the region, particularly the Institut Pasteur laboratories in Dakar and Abidjan. The project to set up the Institut Pasteur in Conakry currently receives funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
The first stone of this new Institut Pasteur was laid on November 11th, 2016.
The President of the Republic of Guinea, His Excellency Professor Alpha Condé, laid the first stone of the Institut Pasteur in Guinea at a ceremony attended by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Jean-Marc Ayrault (credits: Institut Pasteur)
For more information, please visit the Institut Pasteur website.