Emilie Dama, PhD, is Senior Laboratory Advisor; Rebecca Greco Koné, MPH, is Country Director, Burkina Faso; and Irene Ngendakumana, MD, is Technical Advisor, Eagle Global Services, a CDC contractor; all with the Division of Global Health Protection, Country Office Burkina Faso, Center for Global Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Abdoulaye Nikièma, PharmD, MSc, is Senior Laboratory Specialist and Global Health Security Program Manager for Burkina, African Society for Laboratory Medicine, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Kameko Nichols is a Transport and Logistics Consultant, The Nichols Group LLC, Washington, DC. Brice Wilfried Bicaba, MD, MSc, is an Epidemiologist and Director; Souleymane Porgho, MSc, is an Epidemiologist and Data Manager; and Isaïe Medah, MD, is Director; all at Direction de la Protection de la Santé de la Population, Ministère de la Santé, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Zékiba Tarnagda, DVM, PhD, is Head of Influenza, and Assana Cissé, MSc, is a Bacteriologist and Virologist, Influenza; both at the National Reference Laboratory, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Aimé Adjami, PhD, is a Biologist and Executive Director, and Flavien Ake, PhD, is Director; both at DAVYCAS International, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Sara A. Mirza, PhD, is an Epidemiologist, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Bacterial Diseases, National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, Atlanta, GA. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health Secur. 2020 Jan;18(S1):S98-S104. doi: 10.1089/hs.2019.0068.
Efficient specimen transport systems are critical for early disease detection and reporting by laboratory networks. In Burkina Faso, centralized reference laboratories receive specimens from multiple surveillance sites for testing, but transport methods vary, resulting in potential delays and risk to specimen quality. The ministry of health and partners, under the Global Health Security Agenda implementation, piloted a specimen transport system for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) surveillance in 4 Burkina Faso districts. A baseline assessment was conducted of the current specimen transport network structure and key stakeholders. Assessment results and guidelines for processing SARI specimens informed the pilot specimen transport system design and implementation. Monitoring and evaluation performance indicators included: proportion of packages delivered, timeliness, and quality of courier services (missed or damaged packages). Our baseline assessment found that laboratorians routinely carried specimens from the health center to reference laboratories, resulting in time away from laboratory duties and potential specimen delays or loss of quality. The pilot specimen transport system design engaged Sonapost, the national postal service, to transport specimens from SARI sites to the influenza national reference laboratory. From May 2017 to December 2018, the specimen transport system transported 557 packages containing 1,158 SARI specimens; 95% (529/557) were delivered within 24 hours of pick-up and 77% (892/1,158) within 48 hours of collection. No packages were lost. This article highlights lessons learned that may be useful for other countries considering establishment of a specimen transport system to strengthen laboratory system infrastructure in global health security implementation.
高效的标本运输系统对于实验室网络进行早期疾病检测和报告至关重要。在布基纳法索，集中式参考实验室从多个监测点接收标本进行检测，但运输方式不同，可能导致标本质量受损和延迟。在全球卫生安全议程的实施下，卫生部和合作伙伴在布基纳法索的 4 个地区试点了一种严重急性呼吸道感染（SARI）监测的标本运输系统。对当前标本运输网络结构和主要利益攸关方进行了基线评估。评估结果和 SARI 标本处理指南为试点标本运输系统的设计和实施提供了信息。监测和评估的绩效指标包括：已交付包裹的比例、及时性和快递服务的质量（包裹丢失或损坏）。我们的基线评估发现，实验室工作人员通常会从卫生中心携带标本到参考实验室，这导致他们离开实验室工作岗位，并且标本可能会延迟或质量受损。试点标本运输系统设计聘请了 Sonapost（国家邮政服务）将 SARI 地点的标本运送到流感国家参考实验室。从 2017 年 5 月至 2018 年 12 月，标本运输系统共运输了 557 个包含 1158 个 SARI 标本的包裹；95%（529/557）在取件后 24 小时内送达，77%（892/1158）在采集后 48 小时内送达。没有包裹丢失。本文强调了一些经验教训，这可能对其他考虑建立标本运输系统以加强全球卫生安全实施中的实验室系统基础设施的国家有用。
