Installing biosafety level 3 containment laboratories in low- and middle-income countries: challenges and prospects from Mali's experience

In Mali, the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is estimated at 56 cases per 100 000 people, with a prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB in new cases of 1.7% (range, 0.3–3.1%) and in retreatment cases of 17% (range, 4.4–30%). Appropriate biosafety conditions for performing routine TB culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing have been lacking. In 2015, a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory set up in a shipping container was donated to the Malian Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene to provide capacity for TB testing. This laboratory is now managed by Malian laboratory staff and is processing samples at the national level. We explain the necessary steps for establishing and running a BSL3 laboratory. Despite the acute need for functioning and sustainable BSL3 laboratories, low- and middle-income countries are faced with a complex process and must overcome many challenges.

Bleach treatment of sputum samples aids pulmonary tuberculosis screening among HIV-infected patients in Laos

BACKGROUND

Laos has a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and a slowly increasing prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunedeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Sputum smear microscopy is the only method currently available for routine screening of pulmonary TB, although it only detects one in three cases among persons living with HIV (PLWH). Bleach treatment of sputum samples (bleach method) has been shown to significantly improve the sensitivity of the test; however, its effectiveness in PLWH remains to be determined in Laos.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the performance of the bleach method as a diagnostic tool for pulmonary TB in PLWH and to assess its cost-effectiveness in Laos.

RESULTS

Of 174 sputum samples collected from 92 patients, 29 were culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 17 patients. The sensitivity of the direct method and the bleach method was respectively 59% and 93%, and specificity was 100% for both methods. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for screening an additional case was US$17.40.

CONCLUSION

The bleach method is simple, cheap, easy to perform and cost-effective in PLWH. Its implementation in laboratories involved in routine screening of pulmonary TB among PLWH would allow practitioners to start the treatment of this life-threatening co-infection earlier.

[Frequency of G6PD deficiency in a group of preschool-aged children in a centrally located area of Cambodia]

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of G6PD deficiency and assess its impact on morbidity, especially anemia, in preschool-aged children in Cambodia. A total of 151 children including 82 boys and 69 girls from the Kandal province near Phnom Penh were studied. Ages ranged from 8 to 69 months. Blood was collected in EDTA-coated tubes. Blood counts were performed with an ABX Micros 60 system and G6PD in red blood cells was measured with a Roche Cobas Mira Plus system using Gamma reagents. G6PD deficiency was found in 14 cases (13.4% of boys and 4.3% of girls). Deficiency was complete in 7.3% of children and partial in 2%. Anemia defined as hemoglobin concentration less than 110 g/l was detected in 29.1% of children. No case of anemia could be attributed to enzyme deficiency since no sign of hemolysis was observed in any of the three children presenting both conditions. Further study is needed on G6PD deficiency in Cambodia including malaria-endemic areas and on the frequency and severity of jaundice due to enzyme deficiency in newborns.