CAIRO - Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) EURAFCENT signed a data-sharing agreement with the Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM) during a ceremony in Cairo on August 19.
The event was attended by Egyptian representatives, ECRRM CEO Maj. Gen. Amin Fouad Shaker and Executive Officer Maj. Gen. Mohamed El-Gohary, as well as U.S. representatives from NAMRU EURAFCENT: Capt. Virginia Blackman, commanding officer, and leadership from the command’s Cairo detachment, Lt. Cmdr. Dustin Harrison and Dr. Emad Mohareb.
The agreement outlines the requirements, roles and responsibilities of each party in conducting a retrospective study of circulating respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to identify and describe types of infections that were not tested for during the pandemic.
Additionally, the research will involve the collection of prospective samples, in collaboration with Ain Shams University, to further develop a surveillance infrastructure under this new partnership.
“This work will help scientists to better understand the changing ecology of respiratory illnesses during the unique period of the COVID pandemic,” Blackman explained, “potentially providing insights on the impact of different public health interventions. Moreover, while the scientific questions to be answered in this study are important, even more important is the activation of a renewed partnership, demonstrating the ability to collaborate in science.”
The resident technical experts of both ECRRM and NAMRU EURAFCENT, in collaboration with Ain Shams University, will begin to implement the testing, detection and reporting of over 1500 respiratory samples collected between 2020 and 2022. This project will provide critical missing data in the patterns of disease spread within Egypt and will inform future projects of mutual interest of the parties involved.
After a more than 70-year history of working collaboratively with multiple Egyptian governments, in 2018 the Navy closed its research facility in Cairo. NAMRU EURAFCENT entered into an agreement to return the site to the Ministry of Defense, and the compound was renamed as the Egyptian Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine.
Last year, NAMRU EURAFCENT and ECRRM celebrated a major milestone, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ECRRM which enables partnership on research topics of mutual interest to both the Government of Egypt and the United States. The MOU forms the foundation for a new era in Egypt-US relations, that builds upon the accomplishments of nearly 80 years.
“ECRRM remains our strongest partner and ally within Egypt,” Harrison said, “and being able to utilize their expertise and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment will provide invaluable disease surveillance data in Egypt and the region.”
NAMRU EURAFCENT’s mission is to study, monitor and detect infectious disease threats of military and public health importance in Central, European and Africa Commands. Originally established in 1946 in Cairo under the name NAMRU-3, the command moved its headquarters to Sigonella in 2019.
Story originally posted on DVIDS:
NAMRU EURAFCENT Signs Agreement with Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine