Preventive Medicine & Public Health

Biography

[1] Sante plus organization Director/–Public Health professor/ University of Conakry

[2] Health security Agency Director / Ebola National Committee Coordinator

[3] Prevention and Health Community National Director/ MS

[4] National Surveillance and Contact trace coordinateur

[5] Ebola Health District Coordinator / Gueckedou & Forecaria

[6] National Laboratory Donka Hospital / University Conakry

Abstract

Prior to the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak, there was no national system in Guinea for referral of diagnostic specimens. Disease-specific systems existed based on vertically funded programs, such as for polio. During the outbreak, an ad hoc system emerged to cope with the emergency but was not always coordinated well between donors, implementers, and local partners.

As the outbreak declined in intensity, there was an opportunity to leverage investments made during the crisis to create a holistic and comprehensive system for specimen referral, for all diseases, across Guinea. Such an effort would also compliment the national guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR), which was also being revised in the wake of the outbreak. In 2015, our research team was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to partner with the Ministry of Health to develop a national specimen referral policy for Guinea.

The goals of the policy are to establish guidelines for building a comprehensive and sustainable system for the timely, safe, secure, and appropriate transfer of specimens throughout all levels of the Guinean health and laboratory system. 

After developing a national policy, here, we describe the steps of the validation, and dissemination process as well. The sample collection transportation in the context of providing lessons learned to other countries who may be interested in establishing their own national systems for specimen referral (from peripheral laboratories to the national and international referral laboratories). We also discuss implications for implementation of the national specimen referral network in Guinea, and possible next steps.