Mobile laboratories cut Ebola testing delays in eastern Congo

Mobile laboratories are reducing delays in Ebola testing in some of the hardest-hit areas of eastern Congo, with a facility in Butembo now processing samples at the treatment centre where they are collected.

Results that previously took up to 72 hours can now be available within 24 hours and, in some cases, in as little as six hours, according to the report. The shorter turnaround is helping health workers make decisions about isolation, treatment and continued care more quickly.

Testing at the treatment centre

The mobile laboratory is operating at an Ebola treatment centre established with Uganda’s help at Butembo’s Agricultural and Veterinary Technical Institute. Samples can be tested on site, removing the need to wait for results from a more distant facility.

Lota Kalubi, a doctor at the ITAV Ebola treatment centre, said the reduction in testing time addressed an important early problem in the response.

“When the epidemic was declared, a test could take up to 72 hours to get results. This is the first thing that was solved with these sites,” Kalubi said.

Faster results allow suspected patients to be isolated and treated sooner. Patients who test negative can instead return to routine care, reducing the time they spend in the Ebola treatment system while awaiting confirmation.

Laboratory can be redeployed

The facility is designed to move when an emergency develops elsewhere. Michel Ngimba of INRB Butembo described it as a vehicle that can be transferred to another community, including Katwa, if testing support is needed there.

“This is a vehicle, that’s why we say ‘mobile’. It can be moved. It can be moved at any time. So we can go, if today we have an emergency, for example, in Katwa, we can start up the vehicle, and we can move the lab to Katwa,” Ngimba said.

The ability to relocate the laboratory means testing capacity can be brought closer to communities facing an emergency, although the supplied information does not specify how many tests the facility has performed or how many mobile laboratories are operating.

Earlier decisions for suspected cases

Andrew Nsawotebba, who leads the Uganda mobile lab team, said rapid results can help determine whether suspected patients should continue through the Ebola care pathway or return to routine health services.

“If results return quickly, it means those that are suspected of Ebola with two negative results between 72 hours will be able to be guided to move to the routine healthcare system pathway,” Nsawotebba said.

The mobile laboratory is therefore supporting both sides of the response: accelerating care for patients who may have Ebola and helping those with negative results leave the specialised pathway sooner.