Lab Techs Learn How to Detect Febrile and Gastrointestinal Illnesses

Lab technicians across the country are being trained in the detection of severe fever-related illnesses, including COVID-19, using modern technology.  A partnership between the Ministry of Health and Wellness and Baylor College of Medicine in Texas has led to a cohort of lab techs learning how to identify a variety of diseases using samples from persons suffering from fevers and gastrointestinal symptoms.  The training is being conducted at the Central Health Region.  Doctor Kristy Murray, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor, explains.

Kristy Murray

Dr. Kristy Murray, Professor of Pediatrics

“A little over a year ago we began implementing the acute febrile illness surveillance network.  We have eleven hospital sites throughout the country participating and essentially if a patient comes in with any kind of febrile disease or gastrointestinal symptoms or respiratory symptoms, we collect samples from them and we test for fifty-two different pathogens.  It’s very, very comprehensive testing that’s also very quick, so we have a turnaround time that we aim for within about two to three days to get an answer for the patient with what it is that they have because from a treatment perspective that’s also really important. It was really nice to have started this before the emergence of COVID-19 because we had this fantastic infrastructure in place, new equipment, new technology, the capacity to be able to expand to include COVID and so we’re able to actually very quickly react and begin surveillance for COVID as part of this complete network throughout the country.”