TRAC-Plus on nation-wide flu study

TRAC Plus, a research centre attached to the Ministry of Health has embarked on a country-wide programme aimed at collecting data to identify types of seasonal influenza prevalent amongst Rwandan population. This was revealed by Marie Muhimpundu, the influenza surveillance officer at TRAC Plus who said that the move will be followed by the procurement of required vaccines. “We have just started assessing the burden of seasonal influenzas. We are now getting data and after that, different partners will start giving us vaccines, depending on the kind of influenzas we have,” she said. She said that Rwanda is among very few African countries giving attention to influenza to the extent of immunising its population against the disease. “In Africa, immunising against flu is not common. It is common in western countries. It is only countries like Ghana that started it recently,” she disclosed. TRAC Plus is collecting data alongside monitoring swine flu, but no case has yet been identified in Rwanda. Ends

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TRAC-Plus on nation-wide flu study