Roles and challenges of coordinated public health laboratory response against COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

Abdullahi, Idris Nasir; Emeribe, Anthony Uchenna; Akande, Azeez Oyebanji; Ghamba, Peter Elisha; Adekola, Hafeez Aderinsayo; Ibrahim, Y. K. E.; Dangana, Amos

doi:10.3855/jidc.12813

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Understanding the opinion and behaviors of HCPs who use COVID-19 diagnostics is critical in maximizing the utility and impact of each diagnostic test, particularly when access to diagnostic reagents and platforms is limited (20)(21)(22). Molecular testing is now an established measure in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and their widespread use is reflected in the high likelihood of health care professionals requesting antigen testing seen in our data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Health Care Professionals' Confidence and Preferences for Diagnostic Assays for SARS-CoV-2: A Global Study

Shields

Brown²,

Phillips³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an urgent requirement for novel diagnostic tests that determine infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the development of an immune response against it. The perspective of end users on the characteristics and clinical use of these assays has not been previously considered.Methods: We surveyed 17,186 health care professions (HCPs) in 29 countries to gauge opinion on the design, use, diagnostic impact and diagnostic accuracy of COVID-19 tests. Results were correlated with national statistics on the burden of disease and testing in individual countries.Results: HCPs overwhelmingly recognized the importance of COVID-19 tests but 37.1% were unsure of the appropriate timing of investigations relative to disease symptoms. Confidence in the diagnostic accuracy of assays varied inversely with COVID-19-related mortality in individual countries but had no relationship with the total number of tests performed. There was global consensus that the most important impact of positive antigen and antibody testing was confidence in returning to work following recovery. Saliva was the preferred sampling fluid for COVID-19 diagnostic tests in all groups surveyed.Conclusions: HCP input can ensure novel assays are fit for purpose in varied global health care settings, but HCPs may require support to effectively use novel diagnostics thus minimizing waste when supplies are limited.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Health Care Professionals' Confidence and Preferences for Diagnostic Assays for SARS-CoV-2: A Global Study

Shields

Brown²,

Phillips³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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“…2,3 Like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus with a positive-sense, singlestranded RNA genome, containing four main structural proteins known as Spike (S, which contains the receptor-binding domain, known as RBD), Envelope (E), Membrane (M), and Nucleocapsid (N), along with additional genes such as ORF1a/b, ORF3a, ORF6, ORF7a/b, ORF8, and ORF10, which encode accessory proteins. 3,4 WHO currently defines a "confirmed case" of COVID-19 as the patient who has received laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of the presence of clinical signs and symptoms.…”

Section: Mini Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,10 Even though tests are now available, high demand has resulted in supply chain issues that have jeopardized their availability; these issues include the nasopharyngeal swabs, RNA extraction reagents and instruments, and PCR reagents and instruments. 4 Serological testing is conventionally defined as a diagnostic procedure used for identifying the presence of an immune response against an infectious agent. To put this in the context of COVID-19, serology testing encompasses the identification (by qualitative assays) and/or measurement (using quantitative assays) of different classes of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM, IgG) against SARS-CoV-2 for establishing whether a person has been infected by SARS-CoV-2, and has then developed antibodies which, if possessing neutralizing effects, may prevent future re-infection.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection

Bulcha¹,

Bune²

2021

MOJBM

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“…Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly infectious, akin to its predecessors SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which triggered epidemics in 2003 and an ongoing one since 2012, respectively [1]. The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa was initially slow, with few reported cases in Egypt following its index occurrence on 14 February 2020 [2]. In most African countries, many observers attributed the low recorded incidence rate of COVID-19 to under-diagnosis [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa was initially slow, with few reported cases in Egypt following its index occurrence on 14 February 2020 [2]. In most African countries, many observers attributed the low recorded incidence rate of COVID-19 to under-diagnosis [2]. The disease had already spread rapidly across the world, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on 24 February 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid, Cheap, and Effective COVID-19 Diagnostics for Africa

et al. 2021

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Background: Although comprehensive public health measures such as mass quarantine have been taken internationally, this has generally been ineffective, leading to a high infection and mortality rate. Despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has been downgraded to epidemic status in many countries, the real number of infections is unknown, particularly in low-income countries. However, precision shielding is used in COVID-19 management, and requires estimates of mass infection in key groups. As a result, rapid tests for the virus could be a useful screening tool for asymptomatic virus shedders who are about to come into contact with sensitive groups. In Africa and other low- and middle-income countries there is high rate of COVID-19 under-diagnosis, due to the high cost of molecular assays. Exploring alternate assays to the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for COVID-19 diagnosis is highly warranted. Aim: This review explored the feasibility of using alternate molecular, rapid antigen, and serological diagnostic assays to accurately and precisely diagnose COVID-19 in African populations, and to mitigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RT-PCR diagnostic challenges in Africa. Method: We reviewed publications from internet sources and searched for appropriate documents available in English. This included Medline, Google Scholar, and Ajol. We included primary literature and some review articles that presented knowledge on the current trends on SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics in Africa and globally. Results: Based on our analysis, we highlight the utility of four different alternatives to RT-PCR. These include two isothermal nucleic acid amplification assays (loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA)), rapid antigen testing, and antibody testing for tackling difficulties posed by SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing in Africa. Conclusion: The economic burden associated COVID-19 mass testing by RT-PCR will be difficult for low-income nations to meet. We provide evidence for the utility and deployment of these alternate testing methods in Africa and other LMICs.

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Roles and challenges of coordinated public health laboratory response against COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

Health Care Professionals' Confidence and Preferences for Diagnostic Assays for SARS-CoV-2: A Global Study

Health Care Professionals' Confidence and Preferences for Diagnostic Assays for SARS-CoV-2: A Global Study

Challenges in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection

Rapid, Cheap, and Effective COVID-19 Diagnostics for Africa

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