Capacity Development of National Reference Centers (NRC) to Face the Challenges of Emerging Infections in Côte d’Ivoire

Background: Some national and international strategies for the detection and prevention of emerging infectious diseases have been established across sectors. The capacity to carry out these tasks varies from country to country, and that remains largely undervalued. The Pasteur Institute of C?te d’Ivoire has created and implemented the capacity of national reference centers to fight against emerging and other infectious diseases. Objective: Show on the one hand the strategies used to develop the National Reference Centers and the IPCI and on the other hand the results obtained by performing these strategies. Method: Datas collection by documentary analysis (published scientific articles and grey literature) was done on Google Scholar, PUBMED and institutional reference documents. The documentary research was carried out to have a better understanding of strategies used to create and develop the NRCs in microbiology of communicable diseases. Results: Seven integrated strategies were launched: 1-training and workforce development;2-investigation of epidemics or public health events;3-strengthening laboratory epidemiological research;4-strengthening surveillance systems;5-improving communication with partners and stakeholders;6-building national and international collaborations;and 7-strengthening technical and technological platforms. In two decades, the number of researchers has risen from 10 in 2004 to ninety (90) in 2021, with 12 senior researchers and 32 junior researchers. A number of health service staff had attended a qualifying training course, 27 investigations into outbreaks and other public health events had been carried out, 18 short-term research projects had been launched, major surveillance programs and epidemiological research efforts on vector-borne, food-borne and nosocomial infections had begun, and several scientific manuscripts had been published or were edited in the writting press. Conclusion: The Ivorian experience shows that, with concerted effort, considerable progress can be made in the development and implementation of an infectious disease control program.

Establishment and application of national reference panels for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection kit

To develop a national reference panel for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)antigen detection kit and establish a quality standard.The cultures of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens were collected to establish a national reference panel for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection.The stability and homogeneity of the reference panel were evaluated.Based on World Health Organization(WHO)guidance and nucleic acid quantitative results,a quality standard reference panel was established.Currently,three generations of SARS-CoV-2 antigen national reference materials with batch numbers 370095–202001,370095–202202,and 370095–202203 have been successfully established.These national reference panels comprised 8 positive samples,20 negative samples,1 repetitive sample,and 1 lower detection limit sample.The stability and homogeneity of the reference panel meet the requirements.The quality standards are as follows:the positive and negative coincidence rates are 8/8 and 20/20,respectively.The 10 test results of the medium and low-concentration repetitive reference materials should be positive,and the color rendering should be uniform(or the coefficient of variance should not be higher than 20.0%).The lower detection limit should be at least 5×105 U/mL(equivalent to copies/mL),and higher concentrations above the lower detection limit must be positive.A national reference panel for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection kit has been established.As the standard of SARS-CoV-2 antigen reagents,the reference panel has played a crucial role in the pre-marketing quality evaluation and post-marketing quality supervision in China.