On 11-12 August 2010, a consultation was held at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) www.nicd.ac.za(external link), Johannesburg, South Africa to explore the development of a regional network for Africa, namely PulseNet Africa. Participants included representatives from: PulseNet International; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA; Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom; World Health Organization; Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS); and 11 African Countries (South Africa, Kenya, The Gambia, Senegal, Cameroon, Malawi, Tanzania, Cote d´Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique).
Outcomes of the meeting, action plans and the way forward included the following. There was consensus to move forward with the development of PulseNet Africa. Participants agreed to spread the news of PulseNet Africa in their country and neighbouring countries. The Enteric Diseases Reference Unit (EDRU) of the NICD will be the coordinator for PulseNet Africa. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis is the primary subtyping technique used by PulseNet, which requires molecular capabilities including PFGE equipment, agarose gel documentation equipment and BioNumerics Software for analysis of PFGE patterns.
Of the 11 African countries represented at the meeting, 4 countries (Cote d´Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique) are lacking in molecular capabilities and have no PFGE equipment. So, for these 4 countries, a priority for them would be acquiring PFGE capabilities. Nonetheless, all African participants have committed to initiate PFGE analysis of enteric pathogens of priority and interest in their regions. Importantly, participants need to be self-sustaining particularly with regards to funding.
As coordinator for PulseNet Africa, the EDRU will be the 1st laboratory to be PulseNet-certified as competent in PFGE analysis techniques, of which we aim to have this certification process completed by December 2010. The EDRU then proposes to run a training course in PFGE analysis techniques by May 2011, to be followed by certification of the first group of African participating laboratories by September 2011. By December 2011, we hope to have started some PFGE analysis and creation of some databases of patterns.
In early 2012, a 2nd PulseNet Africa consultation is planned.
For further information please contact:
Dr Anthony Smith, NICD, South Africa