FAO equips State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection facilities with laboratory equipment, in Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts

Through the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP), FAO has reinforced the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection capacity, by equipping Donetsk Regional State Laboratory, in Mariupol, and Luhansk Regional State Laboratory, in Sievierodonetsk, with laboratory equipment used to detect livestock infectious diseases such as African Swine Fever, Nodular dermatitis - Pearl disease-, Aphtha of all types, Flu and Newcastle disease.

“Thanks to this equipment, it is now possible to carry out analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method in real time. It will mitigate risks of the animal diseases and will allow us to respond quickly to local outbreaks and thus contribute to strengthening the animal protein value chain,” noted Lina Plushchakova, FAO expert for laboratory support.

The CFX 96 TOUCH systems, produced by Bio-Rad Laboratories (USA), one of the most advanced PCR research system technology, was delivered to Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk state laboratories. The laboratory facilities also been provided with supporting equipment to apply PCR diagnosis: the combined refrigerator with the freezer HYCD-282A (Qingdao Haier Biomedical), laboratory centrifuge and two boxes of biological safety (second class). Luhansk Regional State Laboratory was additionally equipped with homogenizer, vacuum systems, centrifuge, thermostat, cabinet for PCR, mini centrifuge. The equipment represents a total investment of UAH 3,3 M.

The PCR method is used to rapidly detect infectious diseases, determining the epidemic significance of the pathogen, the molecular mechanisms of resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents, epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, verify the doubtful results of diagnostic tests provided by other methods and detect modified DNA in food products.

“Now our laboratory is ready for PCR diagnosis,” said Olga Popovich, Head of the Molecular-Genetic Research Division of Donetsk Regional State Laboratory, State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. “Thanks to FAO, we have received this much-needed equipment that will allow us to respond quickly to infectious disease outbreaks and minimize the spread of animal diseases, and also reduce the financial risks for farmers on animal health”.

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The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Programme is supported by twelve international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank and the governments of the UK, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Japan.