Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis national reference laboratory services in the WHO European Region, March to November 2020.

Euro Surveill

The named authors are members of the European Laboratory Initiative on TB, HIV and Viral Hepatitis core group. The additional members of the European Laboratory Initiative on TB, HIV and Viral Hepatitis core group are listed under Investigators.

Published: June 2021

We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on diagnostic services for tuberculosis (TB) by national reference laboratories in the WHO European Region. Of 35 laboratories, 30 reported declines in TB sample numbers, amounting up to > 50% of the pre-COVID-19 volumes. Sixteen reported reagent or consumable shortages. Nineteen reallocated ressources to SARS-CoV-2 testing, resulting in an overall increase in workload, largely without a concomitant increase in personnel (n = 14). This poses a risk to meeting the 2025 milestones of the End TB Strategy.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8212594PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2100426DOI Listing

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