DAKAR, 8 May 2009 (IRIN): No Influenza A (H1N1) cases have yet been confirmed in Africa, causing medical experts to question whether this is due to good luck or the continent’s lack of fully-equipped influenza testing facilities.
A (H1N1) cases have been confirmed in North and South America, Asia and Europe, but not yet in Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
– I’m very surprised there are no reported cases here yet – a lack of diagnosis capacity is one clear reason, said Kariuki Njenga, head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-funded Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratory in the capital Nairobi.
– The risk we face from this is misreporting [of cases] and late detection of the infection…By the time we have discovered the disease has spread, it could be too late, he added.
Suspected A (H1N1) cases were reported in Benin, Kenya and South Africa but when tested, all came out negative, according to the WHO.
As of 8 May, 2371 cases have been reported in 24 countries, according to WHO. The infection “may soon” spread to the African continent, the international health agency stated in a communiqué.
But WHO’s Dr. Wenquing Zhang, a scientist with the Global Influenza Program, told IRIN he is not surprised at the lack of reported cases in Africa. – There are lots of countries with no reported cases – it is very difficult to say if cases are going under-reported in Africa or not, he commented-
– Diagnostic laboratory capacity in Africa is generally weak because until now, countries, partners and donors have not been serious enough about putting in place national laboratory policies and implementation plans, said Giorgio Roscigno, head of diagnostic research non-profit Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND),
– This is set to change if health ministries tap into the funding that is out there.
The CDC Global AIDS Program and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) fund laboratory diagnostics as part of their global support to fight HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
The UN has listed 11 laboratories in Africa with A (H1N1) diagnostic capacity, though doctors say there may be more. Countries include Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
But Kenya’s Njenga told IRIN his laboratory in Nairobi has not yet received the agent required to diagnose A (H1N1). As far as he knows, he said no other laboratories in Kenya have A (H1N1) testing capacity.
Identifying A (H1N1) involves carrying out a polymerase chain reaction or ‘PCR’ test on a throat swab, which enlarges DNA to help technicians identify a virus. The process requires a ‘primer’ to start DNA replication.
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