The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is implementing a comprehensive plan to support country preparedness efforts for the outbreak associated with the new Coronavirus (COVID-19).
This plan includes establishing and strengthening laboratory capacity for early detection of the virus through the public health and reference laboratory networks in the Americas.
Barbados ‘Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory’ became one of the first in the Caribbean to acquire test kits and reagents for COVID-19 detection, with concurrent training of laboratory personnel in the new testing protocol. The provision of COVID-19 test kits and training were made possible by PAHO Health Emergencies Department, who has worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness to enhance national capacity in response to the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Virus detection requires high complexity tests that identify the specific genetic fingerprint of the virus. To support the implementation of the virus detection in Barbados, PAHO conducted training at the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.
Original source: PAHO
Published on 03 March 2020
