XM and Transelca, affiliates of the ISA Group, granted COP 800 million to ISA/ One Health Medical Brigades for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in areas affected by problems of access to the healthcare system.
Universidad Nacional’s One-Health genomic laboratory, in Medellín, has led the implementation of this comprehensive strategy that seeks to flatten the curve.
Also, the Governorship of Antioquia and the National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional de Salud) have been involved in the development of a seroprevalence study during the Brigade days, to make decisions based on the virus behavior.
In total, more than 7,000 Colombian families benefited from the Medical Brigades or any of the other three high-impact social and innovation initiatives created by ISA and the Universidad Nacional to mitigate the pandemic.
To help address the COVID-19 emergency in Colombia, ISA-ONE Health Medical Brigades have visited more than 20 municipalities in eight departments to carry out PCR sampling programs for diagnosis, take care of vulnerable population, raise awareness to prevent the spread, and take blood samples to calculate spread statistics and optimize public healthcare decision-making by local authorities. XM and Transelca, affiliates of the ISA Group, granted COP 800 million to these Medical Brigades.

Universidad Nacional’s One Health laboratory -Medellín campus-, through its leadership, experience, and excellence, has been designing different strategies to flatten the curve and help the Government of Antioquia and the National Institute of Health define protocols for a safe economic revival.

“As a group, we know that all our actions have an impact, so only through co-responsibility we can understand the value of joining efforts to help prevent and control the virus,” María Adelaida Correa, ISA’s Sustainability Director, said.

The results of these Brigades have been really positive. More than 2.800 PCR tests and 6.500 blood samples have been taken, more than 8.000 protection items have been donated, and approximately 60 medical consultations have been provided, supported by a team of experts made up by nurses, bacteriologists, biologists, and microbiologists from the One-Health laboratory.

The Medical Brigades have demonstrated the importance of Corporate-Academia-State alliances. According to Dolly Montoya Castaño, President of the Universidad Nacional, “this alliance demonstrates how properly articulated, socially responsible, sustainability-oriented companies work together with the Universidad Nacional and all its research and action capabilities to make a real impact on regions.”

At the same time, Dr. Juan Pablo Hernández-Ortiz, Director of the Colombia/Wisconsin One-Health Consortium and the One-Health genomic laboratory, stated that “besides supporting timely diagnosis, we have engaged in conversations with the community for a higher purpose, which is demystifying the virus and educating on the SARS-COV-2 and COVID-19 reality.”

Thanks to this kind of initiatives, the ISA Group maintains its commitment to generate sustainable value for society and provide humanitarian aid in the countries where it is present, by investing USD 4,5 million in the mitigation of the impact of the pandemic.

Municipalities visited

• Amazonas: Leticia.

• Antioquia: Caucasia, Necoclí, Puerto Berrío, Buriticá, Santuario, Marinilla, Rionegro,

Guarne, Ciudad Bolívar, Hispania, Jardín.

• Atlántico: Barranquilla.

• Cauca: Guapi.

• Meta: Villavicencio.

• Nariño: Iscuandé, Ipiales.

• San Andrés Islas: San Andrés.

• Valle del Cauca: Cali.

Other ISA-One-Health Alliance humanitarian aid initiatives

Reinfection study

Several potential reinfection cases in the Department are being studied, with the support of the ISA Group as part of a collaborative project between the One-Health genomic laboratory, the Universidad Nacional, the Public Health Department Laboratory, SURA, the Hospital Universitario San Vicente Fundación and the Governorship of Antioquia.

This project, covering more than 5,000 potential cases, validates the infection from a molecular point of view by verifying that both events correspond to SARS-CoV-2 and not to a persistent possibility. Also, the presence or absence of antibodies is quantified as well as the time window between events. Characterization is not only important given the potential serious consequences of the disease. It is also important for establishing protection guidelines to be followed in future vaccination programs.

Despite the fact that SARS-CoV-2 reinfection cases from an epidemiological point of view are anecdotal, from a virology point of view they are relevant; therefore, surveillance is necessary. The type of immunity the body creates against the virus and the humoral or cellular immune response time are yet to be determined.

DogSavior

Collaborative research between the Universidad de Antioquia, the Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paul, the GRIPE Group, the Universidad Nacional, the UW-Madison, and the ISA Group, where six dogs of different breeds were trained to detect the characteristic scents of the SARS-CoV-2 volatile organic compounds when it infects a patient, allowing a quick diagnosis in the pre-symptomatic, symptomatic and asymptomatic stages. Dogs make no mistake when detecting a positive case, but sometimes they generate false positives in negative cases, so every diagnosis is verified with a PCR test.

The One-Health genomic laboratory-ISA synergy has demonstrated its effectiveness by providing supplies for sampling, more than 800 PCR tests, and all the scientific staff to work on the laboratory analyses.

Wastewater monitoring

The characterization of chemicals, molecules, and organic waste in wastewater has proven to be an effective platform for monitoring the health of communities, which is why several countries have implemented this type of monitoring. The alliance between EPM, the Universidad EIA, the Universidad Nacional, and the ISA Group has allowed applying these protocols to calculate virus concentrations and the way this is correlated with the virus spreading in several communes of Medellín.

To date, more than 100 PCR tests have been performed. It is important to highlight that this surveillance platform is not exclusive to SARS-CoV-2. It can be extended to other pathologies.

Epidemiological surveillance in hospitals

In the last 20 weeks, the staff working at some hospitals of the city has been actively monitored to determine contagion levels and the results of biosecurity protocols.

The four hospitals where this study has been conducted are San Vicente Fundación (Rionegro and Medellín), Manuel Uribe Ángel, and La María, where 10% of the staff (ER, administration, cleaning, among others) of each of the hospitals is actively monitored through random PCR testing.

Results have been very favorable. While the percentage of positive cases in the city is 30%, in the hospitals it is 4%. Additionally, the data obtained showed that the staff who tested positive was infected outside the hospital, which demonstrated the staff’s proper compliance with biosecurity protocols.