We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App





Set Up Reserve Lab Capacity Now for Faster Response to Next Pandemic, Say Researchers

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 29 Sep 2022
Print article
Image: Researchers have suggested effective preparation for the next pandemic (Photo courtesy of Cultura RM Exclusive/Matt Lincoln)
Image: Researchers have suggested effective preparation for the next pandemic (Photo courtesy of Cultura RM Exclusive/Matt Lincoln)

The lack of early COVID-19 PCR testing capacity had a knock-on effect on other health services in 2020. This included delaying the ability to make sure hospitals were COVID-secure and patients had surgery as safely as possible, and slowing down the identification of people with COVID-19 in the community – which delayed contact tracing. The risk of another pandemic like COVID-19 happening is ever-present: there have been outbreaks of infectious disease throughout history. But nobody can say for sure when it will happen. Now, researchers have suggested that a system of reservist lab scientists should to be set up now to provide surge capacity that will help respond faster – and more effectively – to future outbreaks of infectious disease. They considered a number of options for providing scientific surge capacity and concluded that the best scenario would be a mix of highly skilled paid reservists, and volunteers who could be called on when required and trained rapidly.

In their report, published in the journal The BMJ, researchers at University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) suggest that effective preparation for the next pandemic includes recruiting a relatively small number of highly skilled scientists, who would be paid on retainer, to help in the initial phases of an emergency. It would also involve a large reserve of volunteer staff to provide essential testing capacity; these people would not need to have specialist skills but could be trained quickly in an emergency and paid only when needed. Those working in sectors of the economy likely to close during a pandemic - such as entertainment and hospitality - would be ideal candidates as voluntary reserves, the researchers say.

In their paper the scientists compare COVID-19 with other large-scale emergencies including war, where the military has a system of reservists for built-in surge capacity. But they say that unlike the military where reservists serve to deter warfare, having an ‘always-on’ capacity to deal with public health emergencies wouldn’t do anything to deter a new pandemic from emerging – and that’s why there has always been a pressure to close labs and streamline public health services. Their suggested solution does not require sustained, cross-party political will to fund so is more likely to succeed; the researchers acknowledge there are many other pressures on the UK economy that must take priority. They recommend that other countries should consider their requirements for surge capacity based on their own circumstances.

“There’s an extent to which the emergence of an infectious disease is a random process, but a pandemic like COVID-19 is guaranteed to happen again at some point,” said Dr Jordan Skittrall in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Pathology and first author of the report. “In the UK we’re in the privileged position of having the right scientific skills to respond to the next big outbreak. But we need to make sure that we have these people ready, so that when something does happen they can hit the ground running.”

Related Links:
University of Cambridge 

Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
Specimen Collection & Transport
POCT Fluorescent Immunoassay Analyzer
FIA Go
New
Gold Member
SARS-CoV-2 Reactive & Non-Reactive Controls
Qnostics SARS-CoV-2 Typing

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The cobas Malaria test is the first FDA-approved molecular test to screen U.S. blood donors for malaria (Photo courtesy of Roche)

First FDA-Approved Molecular Test to Screen Blood Donors for Malaria Could Improve Patient Safety

Malaria, a serious illness that often leads to death, is spread by a specific mosquito species that infect humans with a parasite. Other transmission modes include blood transfusions, organ transplants,... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The low-cost portable device rapidly identifies chemotherapy patients at risk of sepsis (Photo courtesy of 52North Health)

POC Finger-Prick Blood Test Determines Risk of Neutropenic Sepsis in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Neutropenia, a decrease in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell crucial for fighting infections), is a frequent side effect of certain cancer treatments. This condition elevates the risk of infections,... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The medical office procedure detects the key biomarker in Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases (Photo courtesy of BIDMC)

Simple Skin Biopsy Test Detects Parkinson’s and Related Neurodegenerative Diseases

Parkinson's disease and a group of related neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies impact millions globally. These conditions, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.