U.S. CDC director, Benue Gov. commission model lab

U.S. CDC director, Benue Gov. commission model lab

Lab

By Mark Longyen

Abuja, June 13, (2024) Acting country director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), Suzanne Theroux and Benue State Gov. Hyacinth Alia on Thursday commissioned a molecular laboratory at Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Makurdi, the agency stated on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lab was renovated with funds and technical assistance from the U.S. CDC via the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Ms SuzanneTheroux said that with the commissioning done, FMC Makurdi was now a model lab for the rest of Nigeria and commended their focus on quality management.

“Using state-of-the-art medical laboratory technology, the lab can now conduct HIV viral load and early infant diagnosis testing.

“The lab can also carry out molecular tests for other priority diseases including tuberculosis, COVID-19, hepatitis, and HPV,” she said.

U.S. CDC explained that the high-quality data provided by the lab would help in facilitating integrated service delivery for patients at healthcare facilities.

It added that this would also strengthen the state’s capacity to detect and quickly respond to disease threats.

“FMC Makurdi currently tests more than 200,000 patient samples annually.

“The facility is one of the top molecular labs in the PEPFAR-Global Fund-supported molecular lab network,” the organisation said. (NAN)(www.nanews.ng)

YEN/AMM

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Edited by Abiemwense Moru