Survey of clinical microbiology and infectious disease testing capabilities among institutions in Africa.

Autor:	Jacobs JW; Department of Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, US., Adkins BD; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, US., Milner DA Jr; Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM), Union of International Cancer Control, Geneva, Switzerland.; Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, US., Bloch EM; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, US., Eichbaum Q; Department of Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, US.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	American journal of clinical pathology [Am J Clin Pathol] 2024 Nov 12. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 12.
DOI:	10.1093/ajcp/aqae148
Abstrakt:	Objectives: Inadequate laboratory infrastructure and testing capabilities are a major impediment to addressing the infectious disease burden in Africa. Therefore, the aims of this study were to characterize the clinical microbiology/infectious disease laboratory capabilities among countries in Africa. Methods: A survey to assess the microbiological testing capabilities at hospitals, government laboratories, and free-standing public and private laboratories in African countries was developed by subject matter experts. Questions included institutional demographics and microbiology services in the broad categories of bacteriology, virology, mycology, parasitology, and rapid diagnostics/point-of-care testing. The survey was distributed using the American Society of Clinical Pathology email listserv between June and August 2022. Results: In total, 131 unique institutions in 28 countries endorsed at least 1 type of microbiology service, with parasitology (80.9%, 106/131) and bacteriology (77.9%, 102/131) being most common, while mycology (45.0%, 59/131) and virology (45.8%, 60/131) laboratories were less prevalent. The most frequently performed bacteriology test was bacterial identification (90.2%, 92/102), followed by aerobic bacterial cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (both 89.2%, 91/102). Among all clinical microbiology/infectious disease laboratories, the most commonly tested agents were HIV (90.8%, 119/131), Treponema pallidum (78.6%, 103/131), Plasmodium falciparum (76.3%, 100/131), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (76.3%, 100/131), and hepatitis C virus (74.8%, 98/131). Conclusions: These findings provide contemporary data regarding the availability of critical infectious disease testing capabilities among institutions in Africa. These results and future additional studies will be crucial for understanding where strategic investment in the laboratory and public health infrastructure is warranted. (© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2024.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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