Evaluating The Preparedness Of Kiryandongo General Hospital Laboratory (Kghl) For Handling Ebola Suspected Cases; A Case Study

Background

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola diseasea public health emergency and in 2018, the Ministry of Health Uganda issued an alertfor the disease in the country.Despite the various episodes of the disease that have been reported, limited Information is available about the burden of the deadly hemorrhagic fever in Uganda. Ebola cases can be handled effectively at bio-risk level 3-4 Laboratories, which leaves lower health facilities vulnerable since they act as the first contact to the general population. The study was done to ascertain the level of emergency preparedness of the laboratory in handling suspected Ebola cases.

Methods: 

A case study was conducted at Kiryandongo General Hospital Laboratory in June 2018 following identification of acase. Five laboratory personnel who were involved in the emergency preparedness of the suspected case were subjected to the WHO adopted checklist for handling Ebola. The tool assessed safety i.e. general requirements, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning & disinfection and Facility i.e. water supply, sanitation, drainage & waste management.Scoreswere assigned to thedifferent sections and percentage scores computed. 

Results: 

The Laboratory average score was 95%.The best-performed sections were Facility: water supply, sanitation, drainage &waste management at 100%, Safety: Hand hygiene (100%), cleaning & disinfection (100%). The least performed section were General consideration for safety (83%) and personal protective equipment (93.3%).

Conclusion:

The laboratory facility meets the minimum requirements for the emergency preparedness of Ebola cases however, more emphasis should be geared towards the safety of the personnel and community through sensitizations. We recommended facilities to conduct an emergency preparedness evaluation to ensure that they met the minimum requirements.