The Tygerberg Hospital, in Cape Town, received a R15 million mobile laboratory for HIV counselling and testing, from Germany.
The lab was developed and donated by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, and allows testing of diseases, including HIV, TB and malaria, according to the Government Communication and Information System.
The Western Cape health department says the institute operates in areas of medical biobanking and diagnostic technologies.
The lab contains a fully equipped biomedical laboratory, including bio-safety level three facilities, sample storage facilities, an on-board autoclave, its own power supply, satellite-linked communications and a range of other facilities, says the department.
In terms of the agreement, the Fraunhofer Institute will provide all necessary technical support through German organisations and experts during the one-year trial period in the Western Cape.
Accessible healthcare
The department adds that the unit has undergone trial runs as a lab in Germany and is now approved according to all relevant German and European standards.
It will be able to evaluate a patient's eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) and perform relevant baseline tests on the same day as it is diagnosing a patient's HIV infection status.
“This means that medical personnel will be able to refer these patients to existing ART sites of the Department of Health in a much quicker and more effective manner, thereby fast-tracking the initiation of life-changing services.”
The department says the mobile lab will be able to screen 40 clients per day, totalling 8 000 screening tests per year.
It adds that, as a department, it is responsible for identifying priority geographic areas and target populations that could benefit from the use of the lab.
The mobile lab equipment will be tested during a one-year trial period in the Western Cape, with a view to adapting it for use in more remote areas of SA.
"The arrival of this mobile laboratory is a literal delivery worthy of special celebration. Not only will this unit accelerate our provincial HIV counselling and testing campaign, it means we are now able to take the clinic and the laboratory to the communities we serve. This is in line with our promise to make healthcare accessible, in particular to rural communities, and to improve the patient experience,” says Western Cape minister of health Theuns Botha.
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