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Review
. 2017 May 26;372(1721):20160299.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0299.

Case study: design and implementation of training for scientists deploying to Ebola diagnostic field laboratories in Sierra Leone: October 2014 to February 2016

Christopher H Logue  1 , Suzanna M Lewis  2 , Amber Lansley  2 , Sara Fraser  2 , Clare Shieber  2 , Sonal Shah  2 , Amanda Semper  2 , Daniel Bailey  2 , Jason Busuttil  2 , Liz Evans  2 , Miles W Carroll  2 , Nigel J Silman  2 , Tim Brooks  2 , Jane A Shallcross  2
Affiliations
Review

Case study: design and implementation of training for scientists deploying to Ebola diagnostic field laboratories in Sierra Leone: October 2014 to February 2016

Christopher H Logue et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

As part of the UK response to the 2013-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa, Public Health England (PHE) were tasked with establishing three field Ebola virus (EBOV) diagnostic laboratories in Sierra Leone by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). These provided diagnostic support to the Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) facilities located in Kerry Town, Makeni and Port Loko. The Novel and Dangerous Pathogens (NADP) Training group at PHE, Porton Down, designed and implemented a pre-deployment Ebola diagnostic laboratory training programme for UK volunteer scientists being deployed to the PHE EVD laboratories. Here, we describe the training, workflow and capabilities of these field laboratories for use in response to disease epidemics and in epidemiological surveillance. We discuss the training outcomes, the laboratory outputs, lessons learned and the legacy value of the support provided. We hope this information will assist in the recruitment and training of staff for future responses and in the design and implementation of rapid deployment diagnostic field laboratories for future outbreaks of high consequence pathogens.This article is part of the themed issue 'The 2013-2016 West African Ebola epidemic: data, decision-making and disease control'.

Keywords: Ebola virus; Sierra Leone; diagnostics; field laboratories; outbreak; training.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare we have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Geographical location of PHE EVD Field laboratories and Legacy laboratories. *PHE Makeni was at the Makeni ETC until December 2015 but is now a purpose built Legacy laboratory at the Makeni Government Hospital. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
DFID ETC in Kerry Town, Sierra Leone (October 2014). Source: Ricci Coughlan/DFID. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Internal layout of PHE laboratories in Port Loko and Makeni ETCs. Yellow circles, infectious waste bins; GX, GeneXpert platform; EZ1, automated nucleic acid extraction platform; blood chem, blood chemistry analysis platforms; green arrow, personnel entry to laboratory; red arrows, sample entry to the laboratory.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Overview schematic of the workflow of the PHE EVD field laboratories in Sierra Leone.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
(a) PHE–Porton replica of the Kerry Town EVD laboratory (embedded image) prior to completion of refurbishment by The Royal Engineers. (b) Training and use of the flexible film isolators in the PHE–Porton training laboratory and Kerry Town ETC laboratory, respectively. (c) RNA template addition room at the PHE–Porton training laboratory and Makeni ETC laboratory, respectively.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Number of confirmed EVD cases, total EVD cases and samples tested depicted by epidemiological week. The green arrows represent the date of first testing at each of the three PHE laboratories. (Adapted from [16].)
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
(a) Samples tested by each of the PHE Field laboratories, Kerry Town (2014–2015). (b) Samples tested for EBOV at PHE EVD Laboratory, Port Loko (2014–2015). (c) Samples tested for EBOV at PHE EVD Laboratory, Makeni (2014–2016). (d) Samples tested for EBOV at PHE EVD mobile laboratory, Kenema (2015–2016).
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Sample types tested in each of the PHE field laboratories, Sierra Leone. October 2014 to July 2016. *PHE Legacy Lab, †PHE mobile laboratory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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