Strengthening integrated epidemiological surveillance of influenza and acute respiratory infections in Turkmenistan

The mission featured the visit of Dr. Fielding James Edward, Technical Officer for Respiratory Virus Surveillance at WHO/Europe, alongside Kirill Stolyarov and Daria Danilenko, WHO/Europe experts.

During the visit, the experts provided advisory and technical support to national stakeholders on the implementation of integrated sentinel epidemiological surveillance of influenza and ARI. They monitored and evaluated the updated protocol of the sentinel surveillance of influenza and ARI across expanded sentinel centers, focusing on both epidemiological and virological components, as well as data collection and analysis systems.

The team also reviewed the implementation of the electronic program for epidemiological surveillance of influenza and ARI, proposing amendments to align with updated national guidelines for routine and sentinel surveillance. 

A seminar was conducted to build national capacity on the principles of sentinel surveillance for influenza, mosaic surveillance strategies, data management for epidemiological surveillance, and virological surveillance. The experts also participated in a panel session during the scientific conference titled Healthcare, Education, and Sports in the Era of the Revival of a New Era of a Powerful State, held in honor of Medical Worker's Day in Turkmenistan.

Site visits were conducted to key public health institutions in Ashgabat, including Health Home No. 10, the Direсtorate of Centers for Prevention of Infectious Diseases, the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of the Ashgabat city, the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service under the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, and the Virological Reference Laboratory at the Public Health and Nutrition Center. These visits provided an opportunity to review laboratory surveillance practices for influenza and ARI and assess the operational capacity of sentinel surveillance systems.

The mission concluded with a strategic discussion of key findings, technical recommendations, and proposed next steps to further strengthen Turkmenistan’s integrated surveillance system for influenza and ARI. WHO/Europe reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing collaboration in support of the country’s public health preparedness and response efforts.