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Table 1 Activities at each workstation in the mobile laboratory

From: The East African Community (EAC) mobile laboratory networks in Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan—from project implementation to outbreak response against Dengue, Ebola, COVID-19, and epidemic-prone diseases

Work station

Activity

1.) Donning and Doffing

Donning and doffing of PPE is always done with a buddy.

The level of PPE is dependent on the activity in the lab.

Sample reception: Lab coat, nitrile gloves, heavy duty gloves, gum boots, face shield and Tychem apron; Inside the mobile lab: Lab coat and nitrile gloves; Spillage or other exposed situations: Tyvec suit, Tychem apron, nitrile gloves, hood with respirator unit.

2.) Sample reception

During reception of infectious samples into the laboratory they are checked for triple packaging and re-packaged under 0.5% bleach if necessary. All packages are decontaminated before entry into the mobile lab using 0.5% bleach. Samples are logged in to the system for onward analysis in the laboratory. A buddy system is used to cross check reception.

3.) Glovebox

The glovebox is a containment box under negative pressure, with a Particulate 3 filter and operated using a buddy system, to ensure that all steps of the process are cross checked. Triple packed infectious samples received into the mobile lab are inactivated in the glovebox, either by chemical lysis or heat, depending on the downstream assay.

4.) Clean bench

The clean bench area is for reagent preparation. This area contains no samples or extracted nucleic acid material.

5.) Nucleic acid extraction area

Extraction of viral RNA/DNA or bacterial DNA for diagnostic PCR.

6.) Master mix preparation area

A mobile PCR hood for clean preparation of PCR master mixes. No samples or positive control material enters the hood.

7.) Template addition area

Extracted nucleic acid is added to the PCR master mix on a bench area outside of the hood, using a separate set of pipettes.

8.) Positive control addition area

The positive control for the PCR reaction is added on a separate bench next to the PCR machine, using a separate set of pipettes.

9.) PCR workstation

Bench with CFX96 PCR machine for amplification of viral/bacterial genetic material

10.) ELISA workstation

Bench containing the Tecan HydroFlex plate washer and Tecan Infinite absorbance reader

11.) Office

A clean area in the mobile lab with a laptop and printer for analysis of results and generation of diagnostic reports.

12.) Autoclave/waste disposal

A portable autoclave is provided to inactivate infectious waste.