“One health" inspired SARS-CoV-2 surveillance: The Galapagos Islands experience

A collaborative 'One Health' approach successfully controlled the COVID-19 outbreak on the Galápagos Islands by May 2020, when Latin America was experiencing rapid pandemic spread. The Agencia de Regulación y Control para la Bioseguridad y Cuarentena de Galápagos (ABG), with support from the One Health Research Group at Universidad de Las Américas, established 'LabGal' to conduct molecular diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2. Leveraging prior experience in zoonotic disease surveillance on livestock, this initiative alleviated the strain on Ecuador's public health system and contributed to early outbreak containment.

Freire-Paspuel, B., Vega-Mariño, P., Velez, A., Castillo, P., Masaquiza, C., Cedeño-Vega, R., Lozada, T., Cruz, M., & Garcia-Bereguiain, M. A. (2020). “One health” inspired SARS-CoV-2 surveillance: The Galapagos Islands experience. One Health, 11, 100185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2020.100185