Nicaragua gets US help with new central laboratory:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The US government is supplying the Nicaraguan health ministry with the laboratory equipment, reagents and other disposables needed to ensure it is able to monitor outbreaks of avian flu. The donation, which is being co-ordinated through the Central American state's US embassy, supports the establishment of the national diagnostic reference centre (CNDR). Announcing the initiative, health minister Maritza Cuan also welcomed an offer from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, as part of the WHO's network of reference testing centres, to perform the more specialised (viral sequencing) testing of samples, which Nicaragua will not be able to perform at the CNDR. Citing the views of US experts currently training staff for the centre, Dr Cuan said that the CNDR is set to significantly help improve the technical quality and speed of detection of diseases generally.