Courtesy Photo | From 23-27 March 2026, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research – Armed Forces...... read more read more
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From 23-27 March 2026, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research – Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences visited the Lao National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology to provide antimicrobial resistance training to the Lao Ministry of Health and the Lao People’s Armed Forces.
During the training, participants learned how to collect environmental samples, screen them for bacteria, analyze the bacteria, and use technical methods to determine whether the bacteria were resistant to common antibiotics.
“Bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics is sometimes called ‘the silent pandemic’,” explained Maj. Brian Vesely, Chief of Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases at WRAIR-AFRIMS. “It is estimated that by 2025 we will lose 10 million people to infections that can’t be treated due to antibiotic resistance.”
WRAIR-AFRIMS has been collaborating with Laos since 2019, when bilateral dialogues identified key areas for cooperation such as malaria, Dengue fever, and antimicrobial resistance. This training is part of a wider WRAIR-AFRIMS initiative to conduct antimicrobial surveillance in the Indo-Pacific.
“This training not only helps Laos, but also strengthens our entire surveillance network,” said Maj. Vesely. “We are now receiving samples from 9 countries in the Indo-Pacific. That helps us and our partners identify and mitigate antibiotic-resistant bugs before they spread.”
Samples are collected from across the surveillance network and then sent to WRAIR-AFRIMS for further characterization. These samples are then sent to WRAIR headquarters in the U.S., where they undergo whole-genome sequencing by WRAIR’s Multi-Drug Resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network.
“This surveillance project is essential for global health,” explained Maj. Vesely. “We need to know where these bacteria are appearing in order to combat it. Across WRAIR, we are collaborating on antibiotics, phage therapy, and new drug combinations to fight back against antimicrobial resistant bacteria.”
WRAIR-AFRIMS will continue to incorporate the Lao Ministry of Health and the Lao People’s Armed Forces into the surveillance network over the next year and hopes to expand the network to include more samples from more hospitals.
To learn more about WRAIR-AFRIMS’s AMR surveillance, visit the website: https://afrims.health.mil/
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2026 14:42 |
| Story ID: | 563262 |
| Location: | LA |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, WRAIR-AFRIMS provides antimicrobial resistance training to Lao collaborators, by Zeke Gonzalez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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