Consolidation of WGS and/or RT-PCR national infrastructures and capacities within Ireland to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and future health threats: IREWGS

Programme(s): EU4Health Programme (EU4H)

Topic(s): EU4H-2022-DGA-MS-IBA-01-02

Type of action: EU4H Project Grants

Project ID: 101113133

Objective:

In January 2021, the Chief Medical Officer / Chair, National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) requested the HSE to develop a proposal for SARS-CoV-2 Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) Surveillance Programme in Ireland. An expert Working Group, informed by international guidance developed a proposal to design and establish a suitable programme. This was presented to NPHET and approved for implementation. A Steering Group was established to oversee design & implementation of this SARS-CoV-2 WGS Surveillance Programme (the Programme). A regional hub and spoke model, incorporating 6 regional hospital laboratories (spoke labs) and a central National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL hub), along with HPSC (National Surveillance Centre). A 7th lab in CHI-Crumlin, national paediatric hospital joined in 2022) was established in Q4 2021. This model aligns with a concurrent Public Health Reform Programme in which there are six Regional Health Areas (regions). The Programme was launched in Q4 2021. The overarching aim of the Programme in phase 1 was to track the molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Ireland to inform and enhance the urgent public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic through; • National surveillance of variants (community & hospital) • Early detection of variants of concern • Complex outbreak investigation • Vaccine escape/ reinfection investigation • Unexpected change in transmissibility/ virulence investigation • Antiviral resistance investigation • Human-animal transmission investigation • Monitoring immunocompromised patients undergoing antibody therapy • Investigating unexpected changes in diagnostic performance • Monitoring emerging lineages in animals The next phase of the Programme aims to make the Programme sustainable, expand WGS and molecular surveillance to other pathogens, develop more advanced data visualisation and generic workflow processes., develop clinical bio-informatic capacity in the Irish Health service and upskill Scientists an