WORKSHOP ON DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY QUALITY ASSURANCE

The veterinary diagnostic laboratories largely determine the success of strategies for animal diseases prevention, control and eradication and also for animal and animal products international trade. It is therefore incumbent on national veterinary diagnostic laboratories to provide reliable results. As recalled by OIE, obtaining reliable results can only be possible by putting in place good management practices, reliable tests and calibration methods, appropriate quality control and quality assurance techniques, all of these operating within a quality system.

The data presented in December 2008 in Bamako by the RESOLAB 23 laboratories, show that only 10% and 40% of them have respectively quality manual and internal quality control Department. Furthermore 78% do not have comprehensive standard operating procedure for each diagnostic tests used.

It was on this basis that the last RESOLAB workshop, held from 1 to 5 December 2009 at Bamako with the 23 member countries’ national veterinary laboratory Managers and Head of virology department, has identified as critical point the absence or weakness of laboratory quality systems and entrusted the RESOLAB coordination to support the establishment of a common Quality Assurance and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) program for the network (Recommendation # 8).