scholarly journals The laboratory health system and its response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Liberia

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Kennedy ◽  
Christine L. Wasunna ◽  
John B. Dogba ◽  
Philip Sahr ◽  
Candace B. Eastman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Laboratory System ◽  
Human Resource Capacity

The laboratory system in Liberia has generally been fragmented and uncoordinatedAccordingly, the country’s Ministry of Health established the National Reference Laboratoryto strengthen and sustain laboratory services. However, diagnostic testing services were oftenlimited to clinical tests performed in health facilities, with the functionality of the NationaReference Laboratory restricted to performing testing services for a limited number ofepidemic-prone diseases. The lack of testing capacity in-country for Lassa fever and otherhaemorrhagic fevers affected the response of the country’s health system during the onset ofthe Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak. Based on the experiences of the EVD outbreak, effortswere initiated to strengthen the laboratory system and infrastructure, enhance human resourcecapacity, and invest in diagnostic services and public health surveillance to inform admittancetreatment, and discharge decisions. In this article, we briefly describe the pre-EVD laboratorycapability in Liberia, and extensively explore the post-EVD strengthening initiatives to enhancecapacity, mobilise resources and coordinate disaster response with international partners torebuild the laboratory infrastructure in the country. Now that the EVD outbreak has endedadditional initiatives are needed to revise the laboratory strategic and operational plan forpost-EVD relevance, promote continual human resource capacity, institute accreditation andvalidation programmes, and coordinate the investment strategy to strengthen and sustain thepreparedness of the laboratory sector to mitigate future emerging and re-emerging infectiousdiseases.

scholarly journals Pre-Ebola virus disease laboratory system and related challenges in Liberia

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Kennedy ◽  
John B. Dogba ◽  
Christine L. Wasunna ◽  
Philip Sahr ◽  
Candace B. Eastman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory System ◽  
Human Resource Capacity

Prior to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Liberia, the laboratory system was duplicativefragmented and minimally coordinated. The National Reference Laboratory was conceptualisedto address the existing challenges by promoting the implementation of effective and sustainablelaboratory services in Liberia. However, in a resource-limited environment such as Liberiaprogress regarding the rebuilding of the health system can be relatively slow, while efforts tosustain the transient gains remain a key challenge for the Ministry of Health. In this paper, wedescribe the pre-Ebola virus disease laboratory system in Liberia and its prevailing efforts toaddress future emerging infectious diseases, as well as current Infectious diseases, all of whichare exacerbated by poverty. We conclude that laboratory and diagnostic services in Liberiahave encountered numerous challenges regarding its efforts to strengthen the healthcaredelivery system. These challenges include limited trained human resource capacity, inadequateinfrastructure, and a lack of coordination. As with most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, whencomparing urban and rural settings, diagnostic and clinical services are generally skewedtoward urban health facilities and private, faith-based health facilities. We recommend thatstructured policy be directed at these challenges for national institutions to develop guidelinesto improve, strengthen and sustain diagnostic and curative laboratory services to effectivelyaddress current infectious diseases and prepare for future emerging and re-emerging infectiousdiseases.

scholarly journals Operational evaluation of rapid diagnostic testing for Ebola Virus Disease in Guinean laboratories

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. e0188047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda VanSteelandt ◽  
Josephine Aho ◽  
Kristyn Franklin ◽  
Jacques Likofata ◽  
Jean Baptiste Kamgang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Rapid Diagnostic Testing

scholarly journals An Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the Lassa Fever Zone

2016 ◽  
Vol 214 (suppl 3) ◽  
pp. S110-S121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustine Goba ◽  
S. Humarr Khan ◽  
Mbalu Fonnie ◽  
Mohamed Fullah ◽  
Alex Moigboi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease

scholarly journals Diagnosis of Ebola Virus Disease: Past, Present, and Future

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jana Broadhurst ◽  
Tim J. G. Brooks ◽  
Nira R. Pollock
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Culture Techniques ◽  
Viral Culture

SUMMARYLaboratory diagnosis of Ebola virus disease plays a critical role in outbreak response efforts; however, establishing safe and expeditious testing strategies for this high-biosafety-level pathogen in resource-poor environments remains extremely challenging. Since the discovery of Ebola virus in 1976 via traditional viral culture techniques and electron microscopy, diagnostic methodologies have trended toward faster, more accurate molecular assays. Importantly, technological advances have been paired with increasing efforts to support decentralized diagnostic testing capacity that can be deployed at or near the point of patient care. The unprecedented scope of the 2014-2015 West Africa Ebola epidemic spurred tremendous innovation in this arena, and a variety of new diagnostic platforms that have the potential both to immediately improve ongoing surveillance efforts in West Africa and to transform future outbreak responses have reached the field. In this review, we describe the evolution of Ebola virus disease diagnostic testing and efforts to deploy field diagnostic laboratories in prior outbreaks. We then explore the diagnostic challenges pervading the 2014-2015 epidemic and provide a comprehensive examination of novel diagnostic tests that are likely to address some of these challenges moving forward.

scholarly journals The deuce-ace of Lassa Fever, Ebola virus disease and COVID-19 simultaneous infections and epidemics in West Africa: clinical and public health implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nnabueze Darlington Nnaji ◽  
Helen Onyeaka ◽  
Rine Christopher Reuben ◽  
Olivier Uwishema ◽  
Chinasa Valerie Olovo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Simultaneous Occurrence ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Health Concerns

AbstractGlobally, the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented clinical and public health concerns with increasing morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, the burden of COVID-19 in Africa has been further exacerbated by the simultaneous epidemics of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Lassa Fever (LF) which has created a huge burden on African healthcare systems. As Africa struggles to contain the spread of the second (and third) waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of reported cases of LF is also increasing, and recently, new outbreaks of EVD. Before the pandemic, many of Africa’s frail healthcare systems were already overburdened due to resource limitations in staffing and infrastructure, and also, multiple endemic tropical diseases. However, the shared epidemiological and pathophysiological features of COVID-19, EVD and LF as well their simultaneous occurrence in Africa may result in misdiagnosis at the onset of infection, an increased possibility of co-infection, and rapid and silent community spread of the virus(es). Other challenges include high population mobility across porous borders, risk of human-to-animal transmission and reverse zoonotic spread, and other public health concerns. This review highlights some major clinical and public health challenges toward responses to the COVID-19 pandemic amidst the deuce-ace of recurrent LF and EVD epidemics in Africa. Applying the One Health approach in infectious disease surveillance and preparedness is essential in mitigating emerging and re-emerging (co-)epidemics in Africa and beyond.

Lessons learnt from the management of a case of Lassa fever and follow-up of nosocomial primary contacts in Nigeria during Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1424-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O. Iroezindu ◽  
Uche S. Unigwe ◽  
Celestine C. Okwara ◽  
Gladys A. Ozoh ◽  
Anne C. Ndu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Disease Outbreak ◽  
Ebola Virus Disease ◽  
Lessons Learnt
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