Biological quality evaluation of samples stored in biobank of Pasteur Institute of Côte d'Ivoire : case of influenza in nasopharyngeal and meningococcal in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples

Abstract

The preservation and use of biological samples for therapy, diagnosis and research have been common practice for a long time. To maintain the stability of biomolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins) contained in the samples stored at the biobank of Pasteur Institute of Côte d'Ivoire, we evaluated the quality of the conservation of influenza nasopharyngeal and meningococcal CSF samples. Two (2) samples were chosen for this evaluation, namely Influenza A nasopharyngeal samples and Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples. After a few years of storage, these same samples were used to perform a PCR test. The results of the PCR tests showed a discordance of 36.4% for the Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples compared to 15.4% for the nasophryngeal samples. This study validates the need to write procedures for sample conservation at the level of the analysis laboratories and the Biobank. Therefore, a reflection must be carried out to standardise conservation techniques and a sample conservation evaluation programme.