PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 23 September 2026 – Public health surveillance and laboratory professionals from eleven Caribbean countries and territories convened in Trinidad and Tobago for a fourday regional workshop aimed at strengthening the detection, monitoring and response to respiratory virus threats, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19.
The Joint CARPHA–PAHO SARI Surveillance and Respiratory Virus Diagnostics Workshop, held from 14 to 17 September 2026, strengthened national systems for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) surveillance, improved laboratory diagnostic capacity and supported the timely exchange of information needed to identify and respond to emerging respiratory health threats.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, CARPHA Executive Director, Dr Lisa Indar, emphasised that the value of surveillance lies in its ability to inform timely public health decisions. “For the Caribbean, stronger SARI/ARI surveillance is not simply about monitoring respiratory illness; it is about protecting lives, economies, and regional health security. CARPHA’s priority is to help Member States detect respiratory threats earlier, understand them faster and act effectively before they become crises.”
A total of twenty (20) participants from the national epidemiology and laboratory departments representing 11 CARPHA Member States (CMS) including: Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands- participated in the four-day workshop.
Representing PAHO, Ms. Leah-Mari Richards, Chief of the Caribbean Subregional Program, highlighted the importance of building on existing national capacities. “We need surveillance approaches that are integrated, efficient and sustainable, and that make the best use of the capacities and platforms that already exist,” Ms Richards stated.
Dr Jeanine St. Bernard, Acting Chief Medical Officer of Trinidad and Tobago, underscored the regional importance of this work. “Respiratory viruses do not respect national borders and have demonstrated how quickly disease can spread, how rapidly health systems can come under pressure, and how events in one country can have consequences far beyond its borders,” Dr St. Bernard stated.
The workshop combined technical discussions, country-level experience sharing and practical exercises across two complementary training streams with thirteen (13) participants from national epidemiology departments attending the surveillance sessions held at The Brix Autograph Collection Hotel and seven (7) national laboratory representatives attending the laboratory-specific sessions at the CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory. The workshop was delivered by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO) technical experts with funding from both PAHO and CARPHA's Pandemic Fund grant.
National surveillance and epidemiology professionals discussed how respiratory illness data should be collected, managed, analysed and reported, with particular attention placed on identifying gaps in the time between the detection of a case at a health facility and when that information reaches national and regional surveillance systems.
Laboratory personnel received theoretical and hands-on training in influenza molecular diagnostics, including specimen handling, nucleic acid extraction, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and interpretation of results. Practical training took place at the CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Trinidad.
The workshop also supported participating countries in identifying practical challenges affecting surveillance and laboratory workflows and developing preliminary country-specific actions to address them. These efforts are intended to improve the quality and timeliness of respiratory disease reporting, strengthen links between epidemiological and laboratory data, and support more coordinated regional preparedness and response.
The workshop forms part of CARPHA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen regional health security through improved surveillance and early warning systems, laboratory capacity and public health workforce development. It is being implemented under the Pandemic Fund Project, Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness and Response, for which the InterAmerican Development Bank serves as Implementing Entity.
Photo Captions:
Photo Caption: L-R Chief PAHO Sub-regional Program, Ms. Leah-Mari Richards, Executive Director of CARPHA, Dr Lisa Indar and Acting Chief Medical Officer Trinidad and Tobago Dr Jeanine St. Bernard
-END-