PRESS RELEASE

Vietnamese National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and U.S. HJF Medical Research International, Inc. Sign Memorandum of Agreement for Infectious Disease Research.

June 24, 2008

On June 20, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and HJF Medical Research International, Inc. (HJFMRI) signed a Memorandum of Agreement initiating collaboration between the two organizations and the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) to conduct infectious diseases research. The Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-DMID), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health, supports this research and will focus on projects in Vietnam involving avian influenza, enteric pathogens, plague, and other infectious diseases. U.S. Embassy officials witnessed the signing which will promote cooperation between U.S. medical experts and their counterparts at NIHE, along with other medical research organizations in Vietnam such as the National Institute of Veterinary Research (NIVR) in Hanoi and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City.

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