The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration

Nevio Sarmento; Endang Soares da Silva; Ismael Barreto; João C. Ximenes; Julia M. Angelina; Dircia M. Correia; Silvia M. Babo; Ari Jayanti P. Tilman; Antonio Salles de Sousa; Elisabeth Hornay; Lourenço C. Ico; Filipe de Neri Machado; Maria Varela Niha; Susan Ballard; Chantel Lin; Benjamin Howden; Rob Baird; Johanna Wapling; Lucsendar Alves; Tessa Oakley; Ian Marr; Anthony D.K. Draper; Paul Arkell; Heidi Smith-Vaughan; Nicholas S.S. Fancourt; Jennifer Yan; Joshua R. Francis

doi:10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150

The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration

Nevio Sarmento, Endang Soares da Silva, Ismael Barreto, João C. Ximenes, Julia M. Angelina, Dircia M. Correia, Silvia M. Babo, Ari Jayanti P. Tilman, Antonio Salles de Sousa, Elisabeth Hornay, Lourenço C. Ico, Filipe de Neri Machado, Maria Varela Niha, Susan Ballard, Chantel Lin, Benjamin Howden, Rob Baird, Johanna Wapling, Lucsendar Alves, Tessa OakleyIan Marr, Anthony D.K. Draper, Paul Arkell, Heidi Smith-Vaughan, Nicholas S.S. Fancourt, Jennifer Yan, Joshua R. Francis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

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Abstract

Timor-Leste is a small nation of 1.3 million people which shares a land border with Indonesia and is 550 km from Darwin, Australia. It is one of the poorest nations in Asia. The National Health Laboratory (NHL) and its network of smaller laboratories in Timor-Leste had limited capacity to perform molecular diagnostic testing before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began. With the support of international development partners, the NHL rapidly expanded its molecular testing service. From March 2020 to February 2022, over 200,000 molecular tests were performed; COVID-19 testing sites were established in hospital and community health center laboratories and all 13 municipalities, and the number of scientists and technicians at the molecular diagnostic laboratory at the NHL increased from five to 28 between 2019 and 2022. Molecular diagnostic testing for COVID-19 was successfully established at the NHL and in the municipalities. The molecular diagnostic laboratory at NHL is now equipped to respond to not only large-scale COVID-19 testing but also laboratory detection of other infectious diseases, preparing Timor-Leste for future outbreaks or pandemics.

Original language	English
Article number	100150
Pages (from-to)	1-9
Number of pages	9
Journal	The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia
Volume	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150
Publication status	Published - Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the COVID-19 laboratory response team (Pillar five) at NHL for their tireless work. We acknowledge the coordination work of the surveillance and epidemiology team at MoH, Timor-Leste, and the overall coordination of CIGC. We also acknowledge all the financial and technical support from international counterparts to assist the National Health Laboratory, Timor-Leste, in working on the COVID-19 laboratory response. Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University.

Funding Information:
Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

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Sarmento, N., Soares da Silva, E., Barreto, I., Ximenes, J. C., Angelina, J. M., Correia, D. M., Babo, S. M., Tilman, A. J. P., Salles de Sousa, A., Hornay, E., Ico, L. C., Machado, F. D. N., Niha, M. V., Ballard, S., Lin, C., Howden, B., Baird, R., Wapling, J., Alves, L., ... Francis, J. R. (2023). The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration. The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, 11, 1-9. Article 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150

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title = "The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration",

abstract = "Timor-Leste is a small nation of 1.3 million people which shares a land border with Indonesia and is 550 km from Darwin, Australia. It is one of the poorest nations in Asia. The National Health Laboratory (NHL) and its network of smaller laboratories in Timor-Leste had limited capacity to perform molecular diagnostic testing before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began. With the support of international development partners, the NHL rapidly expanded its molecular testing service. From March 2020 to February 2022, over 200,000 molecular tests were performed; COVID-19 testing sites were established in hospital and community health center laboratories and all 13 municipalities, and the number of scientists and technicians at the molecular diagnostic laboratory at the NHL increased from five to 28 between 2019 and 2022. Molecular diagnostic testing for COVID-19 was successfully established at the NHL and in the municipalities. The molecular diagnostic laboratory at NHL is now equipped to respond to not only large-scale COVID-19 testing but also laboratory detection of other infectious diseases, preparing Timor-Leste for future outbreaks or pandemics.",

keywords = "Collaboration, COVID-19, Laboratory response, Low-resource, Pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, Timor-Leste",

author = "Nevio Sarmento and {Soares da Silva}, Endang and Ismael Barreto and Ximenes, {Jo{\~a}o C.} and Angelina, {Julia M.} and Correia, {Dircia M.} and Babo, {Silvia M.} and Tilman, {Ari Jayanti P.} and {Salles de Sousa}, Antonio and Elisabeth Hornay and Ico, {Louren{\c c}o C.} and Machado, {Filipe de Neri} and Niha, {Maria Varela} and Susan Ballard and Chantel Lin and Benjamin Howden and Rob Baird and Johanna Wapling and Lucsendar Alves and Tessa Oakley and Ian Marr and Draper, {Anthony D.K.} and Paul Arkell and Heidi Smith-Vaughan and Fancourt, {Nicholas S.S.} and Jennifer Yan and Francis, {Joshua R.}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the COVID-19 laboratory response team (Pillar five) at NHL for their tireless work. We acknowledge the coordination work of the surveillance and epidemiology team at MoH, Timor-Leste, and the overall coordination of CIGC. We also acknowledge all the financial and technical support from international counterparts to assist the National Health Laboratory, Timor-Leste, in working on the COVID-19 laboratory response. Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University. Funding Information: Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023",

year = "2023",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

pages = "1--9",

journal = "The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia",

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publisher = "Elsevier",

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Sarmento, N, Soares da Silva, E, Barreto, I, Ximenes, JC, Angelina, JM, Correia, DM, Babo, SM, Tilman, AJP, Salles de Sousa, A, Hornay, E, Ico, LC, Machado, FDN, Niha, MV, Ballard, S, Lin, C, Howden, B, Baird, R, Wapling, J, Alves, L, Oakley, T, Marr, I, Draper, ADK, Arkell, P, Smith-Vaughan, H, Fancourt, NSS, Yan, J & Francis, JR 2023, 'The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration', The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, vol. 11, 100150, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150

TY - JOUR

T1 - The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste

T2 - A story of collaboration

AU - Sarmento, Nevio

AU - Soares da Silva, Endang

AU - Barreto, Ismael

AU - Ximenes, João C.

AU - Angelina, Julia M.

AU - Correia, Dircia M.

AU - Babo, Silvia M.

AU - Tilman, Ari Jayanti P.

AU - Salles de Sousa, Antonio

AU - Hornay, Elisabeth

AU - Ico, Lourenço C.

AU - Machado, Filipe de Neri

AU - Niha, Maria Varela

AU - Ballard, Susan

AU - Lin, Chantel

AU - Howden, Benjamin

AU - Baird, Rob

AU - Wapling, Johanna

AU - Alves, Lucsendar

AU - Oakley, Tessa

AU - Marr, Ian

AU - Draper, Anthony D.K.

AU - Arkell, Paul

AU - Smith-Vaughan, Heidi

AU - Fancourt, Nicholas S.S.

AU - Yan, Jennifer

AU - Francis, Joshua R.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the COVID-19 laboratory response team (Pillar five) at NHL for their tireless work. We acknowledge the coordination work of the surveillance and epidemiology team at MoH, Timor-Leste, and the overall coordination of CIGC. We also acknowledge all the financial and technical support from international counterparts to assist the National Health Laboratory, Timor-Leste, in working on the COVID-19 laboratory response. Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University. Funding Information: Funding: Menzies' contributions to the COVID-19 response in Timor-Leste, and associated laboratory strengthening activities, were supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. NS receives support from a Research Training Program scholarship through Charles Darwin University. Publisher Copyright: © 2023

PY - 2023/4

Y1 - 2023/4

N2 - Timor-Leste is a small nation of 1.3 million people which shares a land border with Indonesia and is 550 km from Darwin, Australia. It is one of the poorest nations in Asia. The National Health Laboratory (NHL) and its network of smaller laboratories in Timor-Leste had limited capacity to perform molecular diagnostic testing before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began. With the support of international development partners, the NHL rapidly expanded its molecular testing service. From March 2020 to February 2022, over 200,000 molecular tests were performed; COVID-19 testing sites were established in hospital and community health center laboratories and all 13 municipalities, and the number of scientists and technicians at the molecular diagnostic laboratory at the NHL increased from five to 28 between 2019 and 2022. Molecular diagnostic testing for COVID-19 was successfully established at the NHL and in the municipalities. The molecular diagnostic laboratory at NHL is now equipped to respond to not only large-scale COVID-19 testing but also laboratory detection of other infectious diseases, preparing Timor-Leste for future outbreaks or pandemics.

AB - Timor-Leste is a small nation of 1.3 million people which shares a land border with Indonesia and is 550 km from Darwin, Australia. It is one of the poorest nations in Asia. The National Health Laboratory (NHL) and its network of smaller laboratories in Timor-Leste had limited capacity to perform molecular diagnostic testing before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began. With the support of international development partners, the NHL rapidly expanded its molecular testing service. From March 2020 to February 2022, over 200,000 molecular tests were performed; COVID-19 testing sites were established in hospital and community health center laboratories and all 13 municipalities, and the number of scientists and technicians at the molecular diagnostic laboratory at the NHL increased from five to 28 between 2019 and 2022. Molecular diagnostic testing for COVID-19 was successfully established at the NHL and in the municipalities. The molecular diagnostic laboratory at NHL is now equipped to respond to not only large-scale COVID-19 testing but also laboratory detection of other infectious diseases, preparing Timor-Leste for future outbreaks or pandemics.

KW - Collaboration

KW - COVID-19

KW - Laboratory response

KW - Low-resource

KW - Pandemic

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - Timor-Leste

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U2 - 10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150

DO - 10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100150

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85153746546

SN - 2772-3682

VL - 11

SP - 1

EP - 9

JO - The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia

JF - The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia

M1 - 100150

ER -

The COVID-19 laboratory response in Timor-Leste: A story of collaboration

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

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