Luxembourg Becomes First Country to Send COVID-19 Samples to WHO BioHub

Luxembourg's Ministry of Health and the National Health Laboratory (Laboratoire National de Santé - LNS) announced on Friday 11 February 2022 that the Grand Duchy was the first country to contribute COVID-19 samples to the new World Health Organization (WHO) BioHub.

Luxembourg has joined a small group of countries (including Italy, Egypt, Thailand, Switzerland, Japan, El Salvador, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Peru) to participate in the pilot phase of the WHO BioHub project, dedicated to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The Grand Duchy was the first country to send samples of the virus to the new hub in the framework of the initiative.

As soon as the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Luxembourg, a plan was implemented to establish a dedicated microbial biobank to ensure the prompt storage of clinical samples to facilitate the rapid characterisation of the virus either via sequencing or via virus culture.

The LNS launched the LuxMicroBiobank in May 2020 to host all positive COVID-19 samples and to serve as a resource for the validation of new diagnostic methods in Luxembourg by offering fair and equitable access to anonymised clinical samples to all partners based on public health needs. The LuxMicroBiobank currently hosts more than 37,000 such samples (taken since March 2020). The success of the LuxMicroBiobank has not gone unnoticed, with the Ministry of Health nominating the LNS to represent Luxembourg in the WHO BioHub initiative.

The WHO BioHub System is aimed at promoting collaboration and cooperation with existing networks, repositories and scientific groups to strengthen knowledge and contribute to the advancement of effective, efficient, fair and equitable responses to epidemic or pandemic public health events. During the first pilot phase, countries will donate their biological samples to the virtual WHO BioHub System on a voluntary basis. The samples will then be made available to qualified entities for either non-commercial or commercial use. The system is expected to further contribute to expanding knowledge and advancing technical work on high-threat pathogens.

In November 2020, the WHO announced the creation of the first WHO BioHub Facility in Switzerland as part of the WHO BioHub System. On 24 May 2021, the WHO and the Swiss Confederation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the WHO BioHub Facility and kick off the WHO BioHub pilot phase. This facility is designed to enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally.

Based in Spiez, Switzerland, the facility will serve as a centre for the safe receipt, sequencing, storage and preparation of biological materials for distribution to other laboratories, in order to inform risk assessments and sustain global preparedness against these pathogens. The BioHub will enable Member States to share biological materials with and via the BioHub under pre-agreed conditions, including biosafety, biosecurity and other applicable regulations. This is expected to ensure timeliness and predictability in response activities. Following results from the pilot project, the BioHub will expand from COVID-19 and its variants to other pathogens and connect partners with other repositories and laboratory networks in 2022.

"The WHO BioHub initiative will provide an excellent resource for the global action plan for pandemic preparedness", commented Dr. Tamir Abdelrahman, head of the LNS microbiology department. "We have worked closely with the WHO team and our colleagues at Spiez laboratory to test the workflow of submission and reception of SARS-CoV-2 samples in order to set up the standard procedure and it has proven to be efficient and simple. We had already used the system to validate our diagnostic method for detection of Omicron variant in Luxembourg".

"The LNS is proud to be the first contributor of COVID-19 samples to the new WHO BioHub. Our ambition to provide top services for the country and its people as the backbone of the health system, and to set an international example has once again been made a reality. The LuxMicroBiobank was created out of a joint initiative in Luxembourg and will now also contribute to the well-being of people worldwide", added Prof. Dr. Friedrich Mühlschlegel, Director of the LNS.

Luxembourg's Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert, stated: "The ongoing pandemic has taught us the importance of international collaboration and global preparedness in the face of emerging infectious diseases. The WHO BioHub initiative presents a valuable tool in the fight against dangerous pathogens and I am proud that the LNS was able to be the first to contribute COVID-19 samples to this international initiative. This highlights the outstanding work of the LuxMicroBiobank and underlines the progress that we have been able to make in this field throughout the pandemic".