Development and Implementation of a Cloud-Based Meningitis Surveillance and Specimen Tracking System in Burkina Faso, 2018.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31671443.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1093/infdis/jiz376 and PMC identifier 6822968.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Nationwide case-based meningitis surveillance was established in Burkina Faso following the introduction of meningococcal serogroup A conjugate vaccine in 2010. However, timely tracking and arrival of cerebrospinal fluid specimens for confirmation at national reference laboratories remained suboptimal. To better understand this gap and identify bottlenecks, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, along with key partners, developed and implemented a cloud-based System for Tracking Epidemiological Data and Laboratory Specimens (STELAB), allowing for timely nationwide data reporting and specimen tracking using barcodes. STELAB was adapted to Burkina Faso's infrastructure to ensure suitability, functionality, flexibility, and sustainability. We describe the design, development, and implementation of STELAB. In addition, we discuss strategies used to promote sustainability, lessons learned during the first year of implementation, and future directions. STELAB's novel design and country-driven approach has the potential to achieve sustainable real-time data reporting and specimen tracking for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa.
Medical subject headings
- Biological Specimen Banks
- Cloud Computing
- Meningitis, Meningococcal
- Patient Identification Systems
- Population Surveillance