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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis national reference laboratory services in the WHO European Region, March to November 2020
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsFlorian P Maurerfmaurer fz-borstel.de, Soudeh Ehsaniehsanis who.int
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Additional members of the European Laboratory Initiative on TB, HIV and Viral Hepatitis core group (in alphabetical order): Ana Avellón, Zamira Baydulloeva, Vladimir Chulanov, Daniela Maria Cirillo, Dmitry Kireev, Claudio U Köser, Stefan Niemann, Ecaterina Noroc, Roger Paredes, Rob Schuurman, Elina V Sevastyanova, Daniel Simões, Alena Skrahina, Maja StanojevicView Citation Hide Citation
Citation style for this article: . Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis national reference laboratory services in the WHO European Region, March to November 2020. Euro Surveill. 2021;26(24):pii=2100426. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2100426 Received: 22 Apr 2021; Accepted: 17 Jun 2021
Abstract
We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on diagnostic services for tuberculosis (TB) by national reference laboratories in the WHO European Region. Of 35 laboratories, 30 reported declines in TB sample numbers, amounting up to > 50% of the pre-COVID-19 volumes. Sixteen reported reagent or consumable shortages. Nineteen reallocated ressources to SARS-CoV-2 testing, resulting in an overall increase in workload, largely without a concomitant increase in personnel (n = 14). This poses a risk to meeting the 2025 milestones of the End TB Strategy.
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