Funding for the equipment, renovations and training has come from grants to The Union's IHC Programme from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (The Global Fund) and the Fondation Merieux.
A fully automatic CD4 machine was installed in October; and its use has been supported by training for PHL and Union staff, as well as the hiring of a team of pathologists and five med-technicians to collaborate with them. About 100 CD4 tests are performed each day for the patients from the Mandalay IHC programme and some other sites that are not yet equipped with CD4 machines. CD4 tests assess the immunological status of patients and help clinicians not only to decide when to start a patient on antiretroviral therapy, but also to monitor treatment success.
A technician trains staff from The Union and the PHL to use the auto-loading CD4 machine.
Fully automated hematology and biochemistry machines have also been installed at the PHL. Hematology and biochemistry analysis may be necessary before the initiation of antiretroviral therapy and to follow-up on patients' progress.
Finally, thanks to the support of Fondation Mérieux, a molecular laboratory has been created at the PHL. This laboratory will first be used for the monitoring and diagnosis of HIV infection.
Myanmar's Public Health Laboratory's new molecular virology room
By March 2012, renovations of the facilities were finished, and most of the necessary accessory items and machines had been procured. The Fondation Mérieux then organised a five-day training for three medical technicians and one medical doctor from the National Health Laboratory, the PHL and The Union who will work in the new lab.
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| Myanmar team with Christophe Longuet, Medical Director of Fondation Mérieux, at CICML in Laos. | Myanmar technician mixing PCR under observation during a training programme at CICML in Laos. |
The training was held at the Centre d'Infectiologie Christophe Mérieux du Laos and included not only how to operate the new equipment, but also how to perform tests such as real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. This is a highly sensitive technique used to measure the amount of HIV RNA in plasma, expressed usually as number of copies per/ml or logarithm of plasma.
In July 2012, a second training will be done on site by a laboratory expert for the team from the NHL, PHL and The Union.
Photos by Nicolas Steenkeste and Nay Thiha.