COVID-19 Contingency Technical Committee of the Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (IICS) of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), San Lorenzo 111241, Paraguay.
Departamento de Biología Molecular y Biotecnología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 111241, Paraguay.
Viruses. 2023 May 10;15(5):1136. doi: 10.3390/v15051136.
Soon after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute for Health Sciences Research (IICS) of the National University of Asunción, Paraguay became a testing laboratory (COVID-Lab) for SARS-CoV-2. The COVID-Lab testing performance was assessed from 1 April 2020 to 12 May 2021. The effect of the pandemic on the IICS and how the COVID-Lab contributed to the academic and research activities of the institute were also assessed. IICS researchers and staff adjusted their work schedules to support the COVID-Lab. Of the 13,082 nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs processed, 2704 (20.7%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. Of the individuals testing positive, 55.4% were female and 48.3% were aged 21-40 years. Challenges faced by the COVID-Lab were unstable reagent access and insufficient staff; shifting obligations regarding research, academic instruction, and grantsmanship; and the continuous demands from the public for information on COVID-19. The IICS provided essential testing and reported on the progress of the pandemic. IICS researchers gained better laboratory equipment and expertise in molecular SARS-CoV-2 testing but struggled to manage their conflicting educational and additional research obligations during the pandemic, which affected their productivity. Therefore, policies protecting the time and resources of the faculty and staff engaged in pandemic-related work or research are necessary components of healthcare emergency preparedness.
在宣布 COVID-19 大流行后不久，巴拉圭亚松森国立大学健康科学研究所（IICS）成为 SARS-CoV-2 的检测实验室（COVID-Lab）。从 2020 年 4 月 1 日至 2021 年 5 月 12 日，对 COVID-Lab 的检测性能进行了评估。还评估了大流行对 IICS 的影响以及 COVID-Lab 如何为该研究所的学术和研究活动做出贡献。IICS 的研究人员和工作人员调整了他们的工作计划，以支持 COVID-Lab。在处理的 13082 个鼻咽/口咽拭子中，有 2704 个（20.7%）通过 RT-PCR 检测出 SARS-CoV-2 呈阳性。在检测呈阳性的个体中，55.4%为女性，48.3%年龄在 21-40 岁之间。COVID-Lab 面临的挑战包括不稳定的试剂供应和人员不足；研究、学术指导和资助方面的义务转移；以及公众对 COVID-19 信息的持续需求。IICS 提供了必要的检测，并报告了大流行的进展。IICS 研究人员获得了更好的实验室设备和分子 SARS-CoV-2 检测方面的专业知识，但在大流行期间努力管理其相互冲突的教育和额外研究义务，这影响了他们的生产力。因此，保护从事与大流行相关工作或研究的教职员的时间和资源的政策是医疗保健应急准备的必要组成部分。
