Laboratory capacity building

The PCR technique has been used in various laboratories at the Centre Pasteur in Cameroon in Yaoundé for many years to diagnose diseases other than meningitis, but PCR was not part of the technical capacity at the annex of the Pasteur Centre in Garoua (Northern Cameroon), despite the centre being located in the “meningitis belt” and actually experiencing meningitis epidemics.

Now, however, the PCR technique has been introduced to Garoua. The biologist in charge of the laboratory has been trained to use the PCR technique to diagnose meningitis and the necessary equipment has been acquired for the PCR laboratory.  On account of delays in the delivery of some reagents, the PCR technique was only introduced for monitoring meningitis cases in northern Cameroon in December 2008.