UGANDA: State-of-the-art lab to improve TB diagnosis, research
Photo: Gary Hampton/World Lung Foundation
The lab will use modern techniques to diagnose TB efficiently and quickly
KAMPALA, 2 September 2009 (PlusNews) - A new laboratory in the College of Health Sciences at Uganda's Makerere University will conduct tuberculosis diagnosis and research to the highest international standards.
"The lab is built with world-class TB diagnostic capacity," Moses Joloba, head of the department of microbiology at Makerere University's medical school, said at the opening ceremony on 28 August. "Normally difficult to treat TB infection will be diagnosed here."
The Infectious Disease Institute of Makerere University, with the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership and other partners, will use the new lab for clinical trials of a potential TB vaccine.
The currently available TB vaccine Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was developed nearly 90 years ago and provides some protection against serious forms of TB in children. However, it is not reliable against pulmonary TB, which accounts for much of the global disease burden.
Uganda ranks 16th out of the 22 countries in the world with the highest TB burden. Insufficient resources, non-adherence to TB treatment, poor access to healthcare services and a limited number of skilled staff and diagnostic facilities all contribute to the country's TB epidemic.
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