Upskilling public health laboratory scientists with cutting-edge molecular diagnostic capabilities for rapidly and accurately detecting current and future infectious disease outbreaks is a must, if the continent is to win the battle against outbreaks and health emergencies.
Africa is vulnerable to the increased risk and high burden of infectious disease outbreaks, compounded by the lack of laboratory confirmation of outbreaks each year, underscore the critical need to establish and strengthen resilient in-country and regional surveillance systems for preparedness, response, and control of infectious diseases.
In pursuance of this ideal, early this month, the Africa CDC through the Africa Pathogen Genomic Initiative (Africa PGI) and in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) in Senegal launched a two-week hands-on training for scientists titled, "Molecular Diagnostics for Pathogen Detection: Focus on Bacterial and Viral Pathogens with Epidemic and Pandemic Potential" in Senegal.
From 2 - 13 September 2024 10 public health laboratory professionals participated, two from each of the African Union Member States: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Republic of Congo, and Union of Comoros.
Executed through the Africa PGI - DETECT Project, implemented under the EU4Health program by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency and Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, the training aims to enhance the continent's capacity to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, by supporting public health institutions with resources ranging from laboratory infrastructure, continuous staff training, robust quality management system, to a strategic operational guidance for molecular diagnostics and sequencing.
"Investing in molecular diagnostics is crucial for Africa's public health future," Senior Advisor at IPD, Dr. Ousmane Faye said. This training will boost the technical skills of our laboratory scientists and empower them to act fast and collectively during outbreaks," he added.
The training covered theoretical and practical sessions on how to identify appropriate specimen collection and handling measures for molecular diagnostics, bacterial and viral nucleic acid extraction, core principles of advanced singleplex and multiplex techniques in molecular diagnostics (including RT-PCR), quality control measures in molecular diagnostics, troubleshooting molecular assays, and analyzing, interpreting, and reporting molecular diagnostic results. Mpox molecular diagnostics were also covered during the training.
"This training comes at a critical time when Africa is confronted with increasing public health emergencies, notwithstanding the ongoing Mpox and cholera outbreaks. Molecular diagnostics and a competent workforce have become essential resources for early detection and response to outbreaks," said Dr. Yenew Kebede, Acting Center Director for Laboratory Diagnostics and Systems at the Africa CDC.
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In addition, the training will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices between African countries and promote the use of modern molecular diagnostic tools in routine surveillance and outbreak management.
'At the end of the training, we expect the participants to recall, understand, and apply the techniques that they have been taught in the event of active outbreak scenarios,"' said Dr. Sofonias Tessema Lead - Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative at Africa CDC. They should be able to initiate a training cascade back in their home countries and use validated molecular diagnostics assays to perform rapid and accurate identification of pathogens responsible for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, he added.
