INMI/Emergency NGO Italian Laboratory Established In Sierra Leone during Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in West Africa

Inflammatory and Humoral Immune Response during Ebola Virus Infection in Survivor and Fatal Cases Occurred in Sierra Leone during the 2014–2016 Outbreak in West Africa

“…Leftover diagnostic plasma samples from 44 patients who tested EVD-positive at the Italian Laboratory at the Emergency ETC in Goderich (Freetown, Sierra Leone) during the 2014 to 2016 outbreak, were included in the study [21]. Of the 44 EVD-positive patients, 25 (56.8%) were female and the median age was 30 years (interquartile range, 39.7–17 years); 23 had a fatal outcome (fatal group, 14 female) and 21 a positive outcome (survivor group, 11 female) (Table S1).…”

“…Total RNA extraction was performed using QIAamp ® Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) following manufacturer’s instructions and part of the extracted RNA was tested for EBOV RNA and the residual was stored at −20 °C. Viral genome amplification was performed using a qPCR assay (RealStar Filovirus Screen RT-PCR 1.0 kit, Altona Diagnostics, Hamburg, Germania) as described elsewhere [21]. cDNA synthesis was subsequently performed from 0.5 µg of RNA using the RT2 First Strand Kit (Qiagen), following manufacturer’s instructions.…”

EBOLA Ag K-SeT rapid test: field evaluation in Sierra Leone

“…Aliquots of plasma samples (n ¼ 210) remaining from clinical specimens collected from EVD-positive and -negative patients hospitalized at the EMERGENCY Ebola treatment center in Goderich (Freetown, Sierra Leone) from 12 December 2014 to 21 June 2015 were anonymized and retrospectively used for the evaluation of the EBOLA Ag K-SeT [17]. All residual samples had been stored at À20 C under controlled power supply until the study (AprileMay 2016); no substantial power interruptions were reported during sample storage.…”

“…The RDTs were performed following the manufacturer's instructions using high containment measures (Biological Safety Cabinet Class III). The diagnostic efficacy of the EBOLA Ag K-SeT was evaluated comparing the results with those previously obtained on fresh venipuncture plasma samples tested for EVD with the reference qPCR test (RealStar Filovirus Screen RT-PCR Kit 1.0; Altona Diagnostics, Hamburg, Germany; limit of detection, 3.11 log RNA copies/mL (cp/mL)), performed on a SmartCycler instrument (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) at the Italian laboratory in Goderich during the outbreak [17,18]. Virus genome quantification, expressed as cp/mL, was based on a standard reference curve provided by the kit producers, spanning up to 9 log cp/mL.…”

COVID-19 and Beyond: Safety and Design Considerations for the Development of a Mobile Biocontainment Laboratory

“…5,6 Several descriptions of mobile laboratories and reports on the experiences to operate these in the field were published previously. [7][8][9][10][11] Here, we provide design suggestions for a mobile biocontainment laboratory based on widely available standard-sized trucks that can function as a diagnostic facility during outbreaks or support research activities when diagnostic capacity is sufficient. Our proposed setup allows for almost unrestricted mobility of the laboratory even in difficult terrain and makes time-and resourceconsuming sample transport obsolete.…”