KEMRI Warns of Looming Pandemic Worse than Covid-19

Scientists at the national medical research agency, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) have cautioned for heightened vigilance and early preparation for a looming pandemic that could be far more devastating than the Covid-19.

Speaking during the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) workshop which has attracted participants from 14 countries in the Horn and the East Africa region, the scientists called for strengthened capacity of laboratories to avert its impact.

Professor Matilu Mwau said pandemic could either be a DNA, RNA and related pathogens, but, as projected, it will be an infectious agent of scale.

“A pandemic is coming. And preparedness must be a priority for Kemri.” Matilu said during a presentation on an occasion that also marked 60 years of Japan-Kenya health collaboration.

He said there is a need to strengthen the institute, and generally the country’s research capacity and early warning systems.

They warned that if there are commodities to be manufactured for that cause, they should be made ready by now adding that the predicted pandemic may not take long before it hits.

“If there were procurement issues then it’s important that they are sorted now.” He added.

He added that the frequency at which there is human animal interaction, especially those in the wild, is worrying.

Kemri Director-General, Prof Elijah Songok said that the region is a melting pot of cocktails of emerging and re-emerging diseases notably the Ebola; Rift Valley Fever, the Multi-Drug Resistant TB among others that may cause devastation and fatalities if proper measures are not put in place to avert them.

“However, Kemri is part of the multi-agency team that is always preparing for such eventuality and has now put systems in place for rapid response activation when the need arises.” The DG said pointing to an array of research capacity within the institution’s domain.