COVID-19 laboratory preparedness and response in the Americas Region: Lessons learned.

PLoS One

Health Emergencies Department, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.

Published: July 2021

AI Article Synopsis

  • No country in the Americas had the lab capacity to detect COVID-19 when the virus was identified, prompting a need for urgent preparedness.
  • A strategic plan was implemented involving reagent procurement, regional training, and technical support to enable national laboratories to detect SARS-CoV-2.
  • Within 25 days, the Americas achieved full molecular detection for the virus in 28 countries through coordinated efforts by the Pan American Health Organization and local health authorities.

Article Abstract

By the time the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 was identified as a novel coronavirus, no country in the Americas Region had laboratory capacity for detecting this new virus. A strategic multilevel approach with specific reagent purchase and delivery, regional trainings, in-country missions, and the provision of technical support was established for timely preparedness of national reference laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 detection. All countries should be prepared to timely detect any potential pandemic emerging agent. The rapid SARS-CoV-2 molecular detection implementation throughout the Americas showed the importance of an efficient and coordinated laboratory response for preparedness. Here we present how in 25 days the Americas Region went from no SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic capacity, to molecular detection fully implemented in 28 Member States, under the coordinated strategy of the Pan American Health Organization and collaborative work at regional and country level with national authorities and public health laboratories.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8241093PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253334PLOS

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