Rosemary Sang, Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P. O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya
Infectious diseases are responsible for 15 million (26%) of 57 million annual deaths in a global population of 6·2 billion. Emerging, re-emerging and deliberately emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are among the most important of this group of infections.
The need for special laboratories that provide adequate safety and containment for handling infectious agents for diagnoses and research have been developed and continue to proliferate in the financially endowed countries in the north. However, in Africa, where most of EID agents are endemic or continue to emerge, such facilities are beyond financial capacity to develop or maintain.
This paper presents the experiences of one EID laboratory in Africa to illustrate the challenges of responding to EID outbreaks/incidences; including assessing risk, determining containment levels, using available facilities, identifying options and biobanking for research.