Progressing beyond SLMTA: Are internal audits and corrective action the key drivers of quality improvement?

Background: Kenya has implemented the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programme to facilitate quality improvement in medical laboratories and to support national accreditation goals. Continuous quality improvement after SLMTA completion is needed to ensure sustainability and continue progress toward accreditation.

Methods: Audits were conducted by qualified, independent auditors to assess the performance of five enrolled laboratories using the Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) checklist.

Trends in Salmonella enteric serovar Typhi in Nairobi, Kenya from 2004 to 2006.

Background: Typhoid fever is a global health problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the current annual global burden of typhoid is approximately 22 million new cases, 5% of which are fatal.

Methodology: To assess the trends in antibiotic resistance in 100 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains were isolated from the blood of patients in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2004 to 2006.

Typhoid in Kenya is associated with a dominant multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi haplotype that is also widespread in Southeast Asia.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, remains largely unknown, in part because of a lack of blood or bone marrow culture facilities. We characterized a total of 323 S. Typhi isolates from outbreaks in Kenya over the period 1988 to 2008 for antimicrobial susceptibilities and phylogenetic relationships using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis.