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Volume 28, Supplement—December 2022
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE
Surveillance

Contribution of PEPFAR-Supported HIV and TB Molecular Diagnostic Networks to COVID-19 Testing Preparedness in 16 Countries

Erin Rottinghaus RomanoComments to Author , Katrina Sleeman, Patricia Hall-Eidson, Clement Zeh, Ravikiran Bhairavabhotla, Guoqing Zhang, Amitabh Adhikari, George Alemnji, Yolanda Rebello Cardo, Ana Pinheiro, Barbara Pocongo, Laura T. Eno, Judith D. Shang, Clement B. Ndongmo, Hilda Rosario, Orquidea Moreno, Lucia Aurora De La Cruz De León, Peter Fonjungo, Constantin Kabwe, Steve Ahuke-Mundeke, Dan Gama, Sindisiwe Dlamini, Gugu Maphalala, Tefsay Abreha, Anne Purfield, Yared Tedla Gebrehiwot, Daniel Melese Desalegn, Frank Basiye, Jane Mwangi, Nancy Bowen, Yohannes Mengistu, Shirley Lecher, Elizabeth Kampira, Muluken Kaba, Joseph Bitilinyu-Bangoh, Gillian Masamha, Sofia Omar Viegas, R. Suzanne Beard, Gerhard van Rooyen, Andreas N. Shiningavamwe, McPaul I.J, Nnaemeka C. Iriemenam, Nwando Mba, Catherine Okoi, Joel Katoro, Dennis L Kenyi, Bior K. Bior, Christina Mwangi, Susan Nabadda, Pontiano Kaleebu, Samuel L. Yingst, Prisca Chikwanda, Levi Veri, Raivi Simbi, and Heather Alexander
Author affiliations: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA (E. Rottinghaus Romano, K. Sleeman, P. Hall-Eidson, C. Zeh, R. Bhairavabhotla, G. Zhang, A. Adhikari, H. Alexander); Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, Washington, DC, USA (G. Alemnji); CDC Center for Global Health, Luanda, Angola (Y. Rebello Cardo); African Field Epidemiology Network, Luanda (A. Pinheiro); Instituto Nacional de Luta Contra SIDA, Luanda (B. Pocongo); CDC Center for Global Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon (L.T. Eno, J.D. Shang, C.B. Ndongmo); CDC Center for Global Health, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (H. Rosario); Laboratorio Nacional de Salud Pública Dr. Fernando A. Defilló, Santa Domingo (O. Moreno, L.A. De La Cruz De León); CDC Center for Global Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (P. Fonjungo, C. Kabwe); Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa (S. Ahuke-Mundeke); CDC Center for Global Health, Mbabane, Eswatini (D. Gama); Ministry of Health Mbabane National Reference Laboratory, Mbabane (S. Dlamini, G. Maphalala); Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, Mbabane (T. Abreha); CDC Center for Global Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (A. Purfield, Y.T Gebrehiwot); Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa (D.M. Desalegn); CDC Center for Global Health, Nairobi, Kenya (F. Basiye, J. Mwangi); National Public Health Reference Laboratories, Nairobi (N. Bowen); CDC Center for Global Health, Maseru, Lesotho (Y. Mengistu, S. Lecher); CDC Center for Global Health, Lilongwe, Malawi (E. Kampira, M. Kaba); Ministry of Health Technical Support Services, Lilongwe (J. Bitilinyu-Bangoh); CDC Center for Global Health, Maputo, Mozambique (G. Masamha); Ministério da Saúde Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Maputo (S. Omar Viegas); CDC Center for Global Health, Windhoek, Namibia (R.S. Beard); Namibia Institute of Pathology Limited, Windhoek (G. van Rooyen, A.N. Shiningavamwe); CDC Center for Global Health, Abuja, Nigeria (M.I.J. Okoye, N.C. Iriemenam); Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Abuja (N. Mba, C. Okoi); CDC Center for Global Health, Juba, South Sudan (J. Katoro, D.L. Kenyi); Ministry of Health Public Health Emergency Operations Center, Juba (B.K. Bior); CDC Center for Global Health, Kampala, Uganda (C. Mwangi); Ministry of Health National Health Laboratories and Diagnostic Services, Kampala, Uganda (S. Nabadda); Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda (P. Kaleebu); CDC Center for Global Health, Lusaka, Zambia (S.L. Yingst); CDC Center for Global Health, Harare, Zimbabwe (P. Chikwanda); Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare (L. Veri); Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care, Harare (R. Simbi)

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Table 2

PEPFAR-supported centralized VL and EID laboratories and instruments used for SARS-CoV-2 testing in 16 countries in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, April 1, 2020–March 31, 2021*

Country No. PEPFAR laboratories No. (%) PEPFAR laboratories conducting SARS-CoV-2 testing No. instruments No. HIV VL and EID tests conducted in PEPFAR laboratories† No. SARS-CoV-2 tests conducted in PEPFAR laboratories No. SARS-CoV-2 tests conducted nationally (5) % SARS-CoV-2 tests performed at PEPFAR laboratories‡
Angola 2 2 (100) 2 NA No data NA NA
Cameroon 13 10 (77) 7 NA No data NA NA
DR 4 1 (25) 1 26,930 588,736 1,176,196§ 50
DRC 6 5 (83) 2 176,249 5,565 No data NA
Eswatini 4 1 (25) 1 NA No data NA NA
Ethiopia 20 15 (75) 15 325,276 630,119 2,355,880¶ 27
Kenya 10 8 (80) 25 1,348,294 401,402 571,413# 70
Lesotho 6 3 (50) 0 189,631 47,006 No data NA
Malawi 11 11 (100) 18 580,578 113,738 56,987¶ 200
Mozambique 16 5 (31) 5 1,061,555 378,029 472,224# 80
Namibia 8 4 (50) 3 NA No data NA NA
Nigeria 12 4 (33) 10 1,987,452 208,317 702,055§ 30
South Sudan 1 0 (0) 0 NA 0 NA NA
Uganda 1 1 (100) 11 1,459,010 279,176 851,514§ 33
Zambia 24 24 (100) 10 1,025,000 600,000 1,218,207¶ 49
Zimbabwe 15 15 (100) 11 650,423 89,504 428,121# 21
Total 153 109 (71) 121 8,830,398 3,341,592 7,832,597 42

*DR, Dominican Republic; DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo; EID, early infant diagnosis; NA, not applicable; PEPFAR, US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; VL, viral load. †Number of HIV VL and EID and national SARS-CoV-2 tests are only shown for those countries reporting SARS-CoV-2 testing volumes in PEPFAR-supported laboratories. For countries not reporting SARS-CoV-2 testing volumes in PEPFAR-supported laboratories, HIV VL and EID and national SARS-CoV-2 test numbers are listed as NA. ‡ Percentage of SARS-CoV-2 tests performed at PEPFAR-supported laboratories was only calculated for countries with data available for both PEPFAR and national SARS-CoV-2 testing numbers. For countries without both PEPFAR and national SARS-CoV-2 testing numbers available, % of SARS-CoV-2 tests performed at PEPFAR laboratories is listed as NA. §National SARS-CoV-2 test numbers represent the number of PCR tests. ¶Test type for national SARS-CoV-2 test numbers was uncited or listed as unclear. #National SARS-CoV-2 test numbers represent the number of PCR and antigen tests.

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Page created: October 05, 2022
Page updated: December 11, 2022
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