Oman launches mobile polio lab in partnership with WHO

Muscat: His Excellency Dr. Saeed bin Hareb Al Lamki, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Health Affairs and event sponsor, underscored the strategic partnership between the Ministry of Health and the WHO across numerous health programs and initiatives. He highlighted collaborative efforts to monitor and eradicate polio, reiterating Oman’s commitment to safeguarding public health.

For his part, His Excellency Dr. Jean Jabbour, WHO Representative in the Sultanate of Oman, lauded the laboratory’s opening as a reflection of Oman’s dedication to eliminating polio worldwide. He added that Oman now joins the ranks of countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region that implement environmental monitoring. According to Dr. Jabbour, the lab not only detects the poliovirus in wastewater but also serves as an early warning system for virus transmission.

As a WHO-accredited facility, the Standard Environmental Diagnostic Laboratory for Poliovirus is a cornerstone of Oman’s expanded surveillance systems, designed to detect the virus in environmental water samples such as wastewater. Its launch enhances diagnostic and epidemiological surveillance capabilities in the Sultanate, including the testing of stool samples from children with acute flaccid paralysis or polio-like symptoms from across the region.
With this project, the Ministry of Health aims to bolster its infrastructure, adopting state-of-the-art technology and international standards to deliver precise, high-quality laboratory services.

The new Environmental Poliovirus Surveillance System (EPSS) will complement Oman’s existing Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance network, ensuring earlier detection of poliovirus in both humans and the environment. By analyzing wastewater samples, health authorities can identify the presence of the virus even before paralysis cases emerge, enabling swift intervention to prevent further spread. Such technology has been successfully utilized worldwide to track and assess the persistence of poliovirus in specific communities.