‘Must prepare for future pandemics’
COMSTECH General Assembly. PHOTO FILE
A three-day international workshop on ‘Fundamental Techniques in Viral Diseases Diagnostics’ began on Monday at Comstech where more than 300 virologists, scientists and students from across the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states will be participating, a spokesperson shared.
The official mentioned that 13 experts from Germany, China, Sweden and Pakistan will give lectures on different aspects of viral diseases. The workshop consists of four technical sessions and will conclude on January 27, he added.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Khalid Saeed Khan from the University of Granada in Spain, who emphasised the need for decisions based on medical research.
He mentioned that the existing knowledge has fallen short of coping with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Comstech Coordinator General Dr Iqbal Choudhary said that it was scientific research that helped in conducting genome sequencing of the virus and exploring its entire biological characteristics within a few months of the outbreak.
He further advised that we need to be prepared for future pandemics by developing our capacity and institutional infrastructure.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2021.