The Use of a Mobile Laboratory Unit in Support of Patient Management and Epidemiological Surveillance during the 2005 Marburg Outbreak in Angola
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001183
- PMID
- 21629730
- PMCID
- PMC3101190
- OpenAlex
- W2049430335
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The article is relevant to outbreak investigation and surveillance because it addresses field diagnostic capacity during a large Marburg hemorrhagic fever outbreak. The abstract concludes that mobile field laboratory capacity supported patient management and epidemiological surveillance and should be part of future outbreak investigations.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article evaluates the role of a deployed mobile laboratory unit during the 2005 Marburg outbreak in Angola, particularly for diagnostics, patient-management support, and epidemiological surveillance.
Study design
The abstract describes an outbreak-response field laboratory experience using quantitative real-time PCR testing, with comparison to a reference laboratory mentioned for result concordance. The design is not explicitly labeled beyond being a journal article about field deployment during an outbreak.
Population and setting
The setting was Uige, Angola, described as the outbreak epicentre. The mobile unit tested 620 specimens from 388 individuals during 88 days of operation.
Main findings
After setup in the field, the mobile laboratory could return diagnostic results within four hours of sample receipt. The abstract reports many cases among women of child-bearing age and children under five, notes pediatric burden, and describes breast milk findings and epidemiology as suggesting breastfeeding may have contributed to transmission. Oral swabs were reported as useful where invasive sampling was resisted, but their use constrained testing to molecular methods; test results were highly concordant with the Luanda reference laboratory.
Public-health relevance
The article is relevant to outbreak investigation and surveillance because it addresses field diagnostic capacity during a large Marburg hemorrhagic fever outbreak. The abstract concludes that mobile field laboratory capacity supported patient management and epidemiological surveillance and should be part of future outbreak investigations.
Important limitations
Directly evident limitations include reliance on field specimens collected during one outbreak response and, for oral swabs, restriction to molecular testing. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is needed for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
Within an editorial discovery context, this article is indexed around Angola, outbreak investigation, and surveillance, making it discoverable for evidence on field laboratory support during a Marburg outbreak. This interpretation concerns article context only and does not link the paper to any live surveillance signal.
Evidence relationships
This article has 5 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.