China and Africa one belt, one road, and the other, contribute to Ethiopia's anti epidemic efforts.

Technology is a powerful weapon against viruses. BGI is constantly contributing China's scientific and technological strength to the fight against the epidemic in Africa.

Bolai International Airport, the capital of Ethiopia, is the busiest transportation port in Africa connecting all over the world. It is also an important transportation hub for personnel and materials between China and Africa.

In order to help Africa fight the epidemic and ensure the healthy exchanges between Chinese and African personnel, the "eye of fire" laboratory invested and built by BGI was officially put into use at Bolai International Airport in the capital of Ethiopia on April 16. The laboratory is the first laboratory independently operated and managed by foreign-funded enterprises approved by the Ethiopian government. It is also the first airport testing laboratory operated and managed by Chinese enterprises in Africa. It provides nucleic acid testing, new crown IgM / IgG serum antibody testing and other services for passengers entering and leaving Ethiopia airport.

"Fire eye" laboratory has become the "business card" of anti epidemic

In an interview with China trade news, Chen songheng, general manager of the African region of Huada group, said that China Africa friendship has been strengthened for a long time. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China and Africa have joined hands to fight the epidemic and made positive contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind. One belt, one road to Africa, is also an important country along the "one belt" route. The Chinese giant gene is actively taking action to help the global epidemic through technological force.

It is reported that the "fire eye" laboratory adopts Chinese instruments, reagents, standards and processes, which are jointly operated by technicians from China and Egypt. It has the characteristics of high throughput and automation. It can complete the detection of 400 samples within 3 hours, with a maximum of 5000 people per day, providing a strong guarantee for the safety of Ethiopian flights to and from China. Since taking over the flight detection task of Ethiopian Airlines to China on April 21, the "fire eye" Laboratory of Ethiopia airport has provided closed-loop detection services before boarding for more than 5500 passengers on 19 flights. As of press time, none of the flights from Ethiopia airport to China have been blown, making it the only direct flight in Africa that continues to operate.

Chen songheng said that since the outbreak, BGI's "fire eye" laboratory has been put into use in many countries and regions around the world. "Accurate detection and rapid delivery" has become a distinctive label of the laboratory and has been appreciated by governments all over the world. This is also the main reason why the Chinese and Egyptian governments and Ethiopian Airlines actively invite BGI to cooperate.

The "eye of fire" laboratory operated by BGI has become a "Chinese business card" for epidemic prevention and resistance. So far, BGI has launched more than 90 fire eye laboratories in more than 30 countries and regions around the world. The airport "fire eye" laboratory solution first launched by it has landed in Hong Kong, Oman and Ethiopia, which plays a key role in the mitigation of local epidemic and the safety of international routes.

Where did the hard core of the "fire eye" laboratory come from? Solid independent R & D technology and equipment is the key.

Chen songheng said that the "fire eye" laboratory model is a high-throughput nucleic acid detection laboratory built according to the needs of the epidemic prevention and control and based on the laboratory technical solutions accumulated by BGI for many years. The laboratory's core technology products from design, testing, operation, personnel training and experiment are all led by Huada. We adopt the new crown virus nucleic acid Kit (PCR) independently developed by Huada. We are equipped with the automatic sample preparation system developed by Hua Da Zhi. The whole scheme not only improves the detection efficiency rapidly, but also has fast replication and extensive promotion. Remarkable characteristics of efficient landing.

"We not only brought advanced technology and equipment, but also provided training and technical support for local laboratory personnel. We hope that China's experience in epidemic prevention and control can help countries quickly build their capacity in this regard," Chen songheng said.

He said that the "eye of fire" laboratory was born in China's anti epidemic struggle. The complete technical scheme, complete sets of equipment, service platform and standard system for pathogen detection are trying to help the world, fill the shortcomings of some countries in virus detection, and make an "immediate" contribution to the global anti epidemic.

The reporter learned that the "fire eye" laboratory, as a general gene testing platform, is actually an independent medical testing laboratory. In case of infectious disease, it can be used to carry out nucleic acid detection experiments; When there is no epidemic situation, the complete detection system and equipment of "fire eye" laboratory can be used to carry out the application of birth defect prevention and control, early tumor screening, and even health management.

Multidimensional help Ethiopia fight epidemic

In addition to providing integrated and comprehensive solutions for the "eye of fire" laboratory, BGI also invested in setting up a plant in Ethiopia to help the local anti epidemic in multiple dimensions.

In November 2020, the new crown virus nucleic acid detection kit production plant of Huada gene was officially put into operation, with an annual output of 10 million people. This not only fills the blank of Ethiopia's inability to produce kits, but will further enhance the detection capability of the new crown virus.

"The epidemic situation has brought some challenges to the smooth implementation of the project." Chen songheng said that due to the differences in national conditions between China and Egypt, investment policies and epidemic prevention and control policies are very different, and communication difficulties caused by policy differences will be encountered in the process of promoting the project. "After sorting out the relevant policies and systems, we will determine the weekly regular meeting system with the Ethiopian government to communicate daily work progress every week, communicate in time and solve problems in time. In addition, we have also opened a hotline communication mode. By dialing the hotline, we can better respond to and deal with urgent problems in time." Chen songheng said.

It is understood that the nucleic acid detection kit produced by BGI has been certified by more than 20 countries and international organizations such as nmpa and EU CE, and has entered the WHO (World Health Organization) emergency use list. In June 2021, Ethiopia factory obtained ISO13485 certification, which is the first medical enterprise in Ethiopia to obtain ISO13485 quality system certification.

"While cultivating the local market, the Ethiopian factory has reduced the uncertain impact of international trade, and has become a new support for the global 'fire eye' laboratory strategy." Chen songheng said that at present, the factory vigorously trains local employees in Ethiopia, and the proportion of local employees has increased rapidly. Up to now, most of the posts in the factory have been undertaken by local employees, and local personnel have joined the management team.

"In line with the mission of 'gene technology benefits mankind', we hope to use the power of science and technology to promote the development of local medical industry in Africa." Chen songheng said that Ethiopia reagent factory produces affordable reagent products in Africa to improve the accessibility of local medical products. Meanwhile, BGI hopes to use high-quality medical testing services to improve the local testing level in Africa and maintain the health of local people.

In the process of exporting Chinese scientific anti epidemic technology, experience and standards to Africa and helping the local fight against the epidemic, BGI has also achieved outstanding business expansion worldwide. Chen songheng said that with the brilliant achievements in the "double line layout" of the Ethiopian kit factory and the "fire eye" laboratory scheme, BGI has also ushered in considerable progress in performance, which makes the company gain more initiative in the medium and long-term development of Xinguan testing business.

Source: China trade news reporter Wang man

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