Fighting to Eliminate Ebola and Strengthen Health Systems: An African Perspective The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed more than 11,000 lives and focused the world’s attention on the need to strengthen health systems in developing communities. In today’s interconnected world, challenges that arise in communities with underdeveloped health systems can quickly be exacerbated… Read More
Pioneering New Diagnostics: Addressing Challenges and Implications for Point-of-Care Testing in African Settings Point-of-Care Testing: Why is it important? Imagine yourself in a city at the centre of one of the world’s deadliest disease outbreaks. You watch as your friends and relatives are struck down by an aggressive illness that kills roughly 50-90% of those… Read More
New ASLM Country Ambassador Champions Laboratory Medicine in Central Africa ASLM recently welcomed Prof. Francois-Xavier Mbopi-Keou to the ASLM Ambassador Programme. Prof. Mbopi-Keou joins ASLM as Ambassador for Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With over 25 years of experience in research, public health, and microbiology/virology, and as… Read More
Smartphone Technology Bolsters Infectious Disease Surveillance A patient presents to the healthcare facility with prolonged fever and chills. Within moments of diagnosis using a rapid-test for malaria, the results are disseminated to health officials 200 kilometres away who are able to track the prevalence of malaria in real-time. This, made possible with a smartphone and… Read More
Partners Meeting Reviews Implementation of National Strategic Lab Plan in Angola On the 10th of July 2014, ASLM conducted a seminar in Angola that brought together a number of partners to discuss the status of implementation of the National Strategic Plan. This meeting aimed to establish strategies to strengthen laboratory networks in order for laboratories… Read More
ASLM Facilitates Joint SLIPTA Auditor Training and Quality Management System Workshop In collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ministry of Health of Tanzania, a regional SLIPTA auditor training was conducted on 22-26 September 2014 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Facilitated by two senior programme specialists from ASLM, a… Read More
ASLM Continues Commitment to Expanded HIV Viral Load Testing Though viral load testing is a powerful tool, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for improving the long-term success of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV, less than 20% of ART patients in Africa receive regular viral load monitoring.[1] At the AIDS 2014 International Conference in… Read More
Infectious Disease Surveillance in Times of Calm and in Times of Storm Lab Culture discusses different surveillance approaches for optimal disease tracking, proving especially timely in light of the current Ebola outbreak No individual doctor, nurse, clinical laboratory professional, or healthcare worker, no matter how dedicated, can single-handedly stop an epidemic. Solving the problem of… Read More
Combatting Ebola: Leadership and Infrastructure are Keys to Success Exchanging Ideas with Dr. Peter Piot, Ebola Co-Discoverer and ASLM2014 Conference Plenary Keynote Speaker In September 1976, at age 27, the young virologist Dr. Peter Piot was working in a laboratory in Antwerp, Belgium, when a sample arrived from Yambuku, Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic… Read More
Africa’s Future is in Our Hands: An Interview with NHLS CEO Sagie Pillay, Co-Chair of ASLM2014 Sagie Pillay of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), South Africa, recently spoke with us about his roles in NHLS and ASLM2014, the collaboration between NHLS and ASLM, and his hopes for the future of African laboratory medicine. Mr…. Read More
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