The next pandemic could be more devastating than the Covid-19, scientists at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) have cautioned and called for strengthened capacity of laboratories.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) workshop, which has attracted participants from 14 countries in the Horn and East Africa region, the scientists made deliberate preparations to avert its impact.

If there are commodities to be manufactured for that cause, the scientists stated, they should be made ready by now, saying the predicted pandemic may not take long before it hits.

Prof Matilu Mwau (below)was categorical that the said pandemic could either be a DNA, RNA and related pathogens, but the fact is, it will be an infectious agent of scale.

“”A pandemic is coming. And preparedness must be a priority for Kemri,” he 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.

“If there were procurement issues then it’s important that they are sorted now,” he said.
Mwau particularly pointed out 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,” he said, pointing to an array of research capacity within the institution’s domain.