Abstract
The laboratory is considered the cornerstone of tuberculosis (TB) control programme. International review of Ghana's programme in the late nineties identified the laboratory services as the weakest component. Sputum smear microscopy (SSM) being the main method of diagnosing pulmonary TB in Ghana, the training objectives were to: (i) strengthen the knowledge and skills of laboratory personnel on SSM (ii) impart necessary techniques in biosafety and (iii) introduce a Quality Assurance (QA) system in order to strengthen SSM services. Personnel were selected for training during a nationwide situation analysis of SSM centres in 2000/2001. Four training sessions on SSM/QA were held between 2001/2004. A total of 80 personnel were trained: 10 regional TB coordinators and 70 laboratory personnel. The participants upon return to their respective regions also organized training within their districts. This approach resulted in another 100 district TB coordinators and 200 laboratory personnel being trained. Improvement in smear preparation, staining and reading ability of the participants were observed during the post-test and subsequent visit to their respective laboratories. The training has led to strengthening of TB laboratory services in the country and has contributed to increase in case detection from 10,745 in 2000 to 11,827 in 2004 and 14,022 in 2008. It was observed during the post-training follow-up and quarterly supervision visits that morale of the personnel was high. Continuous training and re-training of laboratory personnel on SSM and QA at regular intervals do play an important role for effective and efficient TB control programme.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient disease that has caused more suffering and death than any other infectious disease continues to be a major public health problem worldwide
We report here the role played by laboratory training in the diagnosis of TB in Ghana
The training programmes were organized between September 2001 and August 2004 at the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (NTBRL) at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana, which has enough suitable lecture rooms and laboratories for both lectures and practical sessions
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient disease that has caused more suffering and death than any other infectious disease continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. In 2008, only 14,022 TB cases of all forms were reported, the highest cases ever recorded officially in the country.[3] It is believed that many people suffering from the disease do not report to health facilities due to the stigma attached to the disease. Some of those who report are misdiagnosed by laboratory personnel due to inaccurate sputum smear examinations. This may lead to a false negative or false positive result which has adverse implications in the community and on the patient
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