Bird-flu tests exacting work
Staff run thousands of checks each day
KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
For almost two years Nattakarn Tipmom has been working late into the night and on holidays in a small makeshift laboratory packed with virus diagnostic equipment, poultry samples, and several bottles of the H5N1 bird flu virus primer.
Ms Nattakarn, 27, was a bacterial disease researcher at the National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH), under the Livestock Development Department. She was moved to the virology division early last year to help test the huge number of fowl samples for the avian influenza virus.
Her tasks centre on preparing samples of poultry organs, tissues or droppings and testing them for the virus, using egg inoculation and real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) methods.
She works with 40 other veterinarians and scientists. Each day they must check over a thousand eggs used to isolate the bird-flu virus, measure out chemicals used for diagnosis, study the virus's DNA, analyse and verify the test results and then enter them in a database.
They are also tasked with keeping watch for any virus mutation that is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or that might cause a flu pandemic.
Whenever there is a bird flu outbreak, up to 5,000 samples arrive from 10 central provinces, including Bangkok, for testing every day.
The results must be confirmed by other diagnostic methods and sent to the livestock chief and the agriculture and cooperatives minister, who then release the information to the public.
The standard diagnosis process takes 8-10 days.
"I'm exhausted," said Ms Nattakarn. "I've had no time to take a break since bird flu was confirmed here. Samples keep flowing in and we have no choice but to get the job done in the most accurate and timely manner. I like this job. But I'm worried because work overload increases the chance of error," the scientist said.
Lab staff working with highly contagious diseases like the H5N1 virus are required to be in good health and of clear mind because they must strictly follow diagnosis and safety protocols.
"My family always tell me to be careful. But I'm confident that as long as I and my team strictly follow laboratory safety rules, we will be safe," Ms Nattakarn said.
Located in Kasetsart University, the 18-year-old institute had a low profile until the first wave of bird flu struck in January 2004 _ and the NIAH confirmed the first case of bird flu in dead poultry from a farm in Suphan Buri province.
Established in 1986 with financial and technical support from the Japanese government, the NIAH is the country's reference laboratory for confirming diagnoses of animal diseases, including avian influenza.
The agency has seven regional offices which keep watch on disease outbreaks in commercial animals, including poultry, pigs and cattle.
Patchima Indrakamhang, acting director of NIAH, said the personnel shortage was a major problem as samples just kept flowing in. Staff were overworked and lab space short.
Since the first flare-up of avian influenza, the NIAH had brought in scientists from various sections such as pathology, bacteriology, parasitology, biochemistry and toxicology, and the leptospirosis centre, to support bird flu diagnosis.
The sample volume was high because the Livestock Development Department was implementing "x-ray" operations twice a year. This meant fowl samples must be collected every day from every household that raises poultry for testing and routine surveillance.
Dr Patchima said the institute was planning to build a new laboratory which would have a higher safety standard, or biosecurity level, than the existing ones.
The NIAH's labs currently apply safety standard level 2, which was not enough to deal with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. The new laboratory units would operate at biosecurity level 3 to ensure that the lethal virus would not infect staff or leak into the outside environment, she said.
Ladda Trongwongsa, head of the pathology division, said using the NIAH's scientists for bird flu diagnosis had stalled other research and development projects.
"We need to do research to help Thailand cope with newly-emerging animal diseases, including avian flu. But the scientists have had to put aside other research projects because we have been overwhelmed with the routine job of testing chicken samples," said Dr Ladda.
Between October 2004 and September 2005, the NIAH tested 219,930 samples, _ including 74,684 chickens, 62,640 ducks, 39,197 goats, 22,429 cows and 11,333 pigs.
A greater capacity for diagnosis of the H5N1 virus was needed to fight the disease, the NIAH's senior virologist said.
But cooperation from people and poultry raisers in complying with the government's bird flu control and prevention measures was more crucial, she said.
Controlling the outbreak was the first step in combating bird flu, she said.
KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
For almost two years Nattakarn Tipmom has been working late into the night and on holidays in a small makeshift laboratory packed with virus diagnostic equipment, poultry samples, and several bottles of the H5N1 bird flu virus primer.
Ms Nattakarn, 27, was a bacterial disease researcher at the National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH), under the Livestock Development Department. She was moved to the virology division early last year to help test the huge number of fowl samples for the avian influenza virus.
Her tasks centre on preparing samples of poultry organs, tissues or droppings and testing them for the virus, using egg inoculation and real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) methods.
She works with 40 other veterinarians and scientists. Each day they must check over a thousand eggs used to isolate the bird-flu virus, measure out chemicals used for diagnosis, study the virus's DNA, analyse and verify the test results and then enter them in a database.
They are also tasked with keeping watch for any virus mutation that is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or that might cause a flu pandemic.
Whenever there is a bird flu outbreak, up to 5,000 samples arrive from 10 central provinces, including Bangkok, for testing every day.
The results must be confirmed by other diagnostic methods and sent to the livestock chief and the agriculture and cooperatives minister, who then release the information to the public.
The standard diagnosis process takes 8-10 days.
"I'm exhausted," said Ms Nattakarn. "I've had no time to take a break since bird flu was confirmed here. Samples keep flowing in and we have no choice but to get the job done in the most accurate and timely manner. I like this job. But I'm worried because work overload increases the chance of error," the scientist said.
Lab staff working with highly contagious diseases like the H5N1 virus are required to be in good health and of clear mind because they must strictly follow diagnosis and safety protocols.
"My family always tell me to be careful. But I'm confident that as long as I and my team strictly follow laboratory safety rules, we will be safe," Ms Nattakarn said.
Located in Kasetsart University, the 18-year-old institute had a low profile until the first wave of bird flu struck in January 2004 _ and the NIAH confirmed the first case of bird flu in dead poultry from a farm in Suphan Buri province.
Established in 1986 with financial and technical support from the Japanese government, the NIAH is the country's reference laboratory for confirming diagnoses of animal diseases, including avian influenza.
The agency has seven regional offices which keep watch on disease outbreaks in commercial animals, including poultry, pigs and cattle.
Patchima Indrakamhang, acting director of NIAH, said the personnel shortage was a major problem as samples just kept flowing in. Staff were overworked and lab space short.
Since the first flare-up of avian influenza, the NIAH had brought in scientists from various sections such as pathology, bacteriology, parasitology, biochemistry and toxicology, and the leptospirosis centre, to support bird flu diagnosis.
The sample volume was high because the Livestock Development Department was implementing "x-ray" operations twice a year. This meant fowl samples must be collected every day from every household that raises poultry for testing and routine surveillance.
Dr Patchima said the institute was planning to build a new laboratory which would have a higher safety standard, or biosecurity level, than the existing ones.
The NIAH's labs currently apply safety standard level 2, which was not enough to deal with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. The new laboratory units would operate at biosecurity level 3 to ensure that the lethal virus would not infect staff or leak into the outside environment, she said.
Ladda Trongwongsa, head of the pathology division, said using the NIAH's scientists for bird flu diagnosis had stalled other research and development projects.
"We need to do research to help Thailand cope with newly-emerging animal diseases, including avian flu. But the scientists have had to put aside other research projects because we have been overwhelmed with the routine job of testing chicken samples," said Dr Ladda.
Between October 2004 and September 2005, the NIAH tested 219,930 samples, _ including 74,684 chickens, 62,640 ducks, 39,197 goats, 22,429 cows and 11,333 pigs.
A greater capacity for diagnosis of the H5N1 virus was needed to fight the disease, the NIAH's senior virologist said.
But cooperation from people and poultry raisers in complying with the government's bird flu control and prevention measures was more crucial, she said.
Controlling the outbreak was the first step in combating bird flu, she said.
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