{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T19:45:55Z","timestamp":1792093555339,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1_suppl","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]],"date-time":"2020-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1577836800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]],"date-time":"2020-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1577836800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Health Security"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    In Mali, qualified laboratories for testing of dangerous pathogens are centralized in Bamako. Creating a specimen transport system respecting timeline, specimen quality, biosafety, and biosecurity standards is a challenge. The current ad hoc system that relies on untrained public transport companies carries risks of spoilage, accidental release of pathogens, and delays, which compromise specimen quality. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness (ie, timeline, quality of specimen, and cost) of using the trained postal service for sample transportation from district to central level, compared with the current system. The postal service intervention ran from mid-2016 to mid-2017 and covered 3 districts. Data were collected in the same districts during the same period of the preceding year for comparison. In all, 41 specimens were shipped using public transportation and 51 were shipped using the postal service. These included suspected meningitis, measles, yellow fever, and polio samples. Only 46% of samples sent by public transportation were received in Bamako within 72 hours of collection, compared to 71% of samples shipped via the postal service (\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&lt;\u2009.05). Further, 93% of samples shipped by public transportation arrived in good condition at the receiving laboratory, compared to 98% by postal service. Although cost comparisons were difficult (flat fee vs per-specimen fare), the average cost per specimen was 8 times higher with the postal service. Shipment of specimens from districts to central level using the postal service was feasible and appeared to be faster than public transportation, thus allowing specimen quality to be preserved. Further analysis regarding the most efficient costing mechanism is needed.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1089\/hs.2019.0061","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,31]],"date-time":"2020-01-31T14:44:20Z","timestamp":1580481860000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Sample Transport Optimization: Mali Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Hamadoun","family":"Kassambara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hamadoun Kassambara, MPH, is Chief of Party, GHSA, and Mamadou Diango Traor\u00e9, MS, is Data Manager, GHSA; both in the Department of Health, Catholic Relief Services, Bamako, Mali.Marjorie Larson Nana, MPH, is a Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.Famory Samassa, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor for Health, Management Science for Health, Bamako, Mali. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marjorie Larson","family":"Nana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hamadoun Kassambara, MPH, is Chief of Party, GHSA, and Mamadou Diango Traor\u00e9, MS, is Data Manager, GHSA; both in the Department of Health, Catholic Relief Services, Bamako, Mali.Marjorie Larson Nana, MPH, is a Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.Famory Samassa, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor for Health, Management Science for Health, Bamako, Mali. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Famory","family":"Samassa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hamadoun Kassambara, MPH, is Chief of Party, GHSA, and Mamadou Diango Traor\u00e9, MS, is Data Manager, GHSA; both in the Department of Health, Catholic Relief Services, Bamako, Mali.Marjorie Larson Nana, MPH, is a Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.Famory Samassa, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor for Health, Management Science for Health, Bamako, Mali. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mamadou Diango","family":"Traor\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hamadoun Kassambara, MPH, is Chief of Party, GHSA, and Mamadou Diango Traor\u00e9, MS, is Data Manager, GHSA; both in the Department of Health, Catholic Relief Services, Bamako, Mali.Marjorie Larson Nana, MPH, is a Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.Famory Samassa, MPH, is Senior Technical Advisor for Health, Management Science for Health, Bamako, Mali. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,31]]},"reference":[{"issue":"50","key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","first-page":"1202","article-title":"al. Challenges in responding to the Ebola epidemic\u2014four rural counties, Liberia, August-November 2014","volume":"63","author":"Summers A","year":"2014","unstructured":"Summers A, , Nyenswah TG, , Montgomery JM, et. al. Challenges in responding to the Ebola epidemic\u2014four rural counties, Liberia, August-November 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2014; 63(50):1202-1204.","journal-title":"MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep"},{"issue":"49","key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","first-page":"1168","article-title":"Ebola virus disease in health care workers\u2014Sierra Leone, 2014","volume":"63","author":"Kilmarx PH","year":"2014","unstructured":"Kilmarx PH, , Clarke KR, , Dietz PM, et al. Ebola virus disease in health care workers\u2014Sierra Leone, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2014; 63(49):1168-1171.","journal-title":"MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiw035"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/tmi.12450"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization. Joint External Evaluation Tool. 2d ed. Geneva: WHO; 2018. https:\/\/www.who.int\/ihr\/publications\/WHO_HSE_GCR_2018_2\/en\/. Accessed March23 2019."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4102\/ajlm.v5i3.471"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiv576"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","volume-title":"Building Laboratory Capacity to Support the Global Health Security Agenda Assessment of Sample Referral Systems and Capabilities","author":"African Society for Laboratory Medicine","year":"2015","unstructured":"African Society for Laboratory Medicine. Building Laboratory Capacity to Support the Global Health Security Agenda Assessment of Sample Referral Systems and Capabilities. Mali: ASLM; 2015."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","unstructured":"Global Laboratory Initiative (GLI) Stop TB Partnership. GLI Guide to TB Specimen Referral Systems and Integrated Networks. Geneva: Stop TB Partnership; 2018. http:\/\/www.stoptb.org\/wg\/gli\/assets\/documents\/gli_guide_specimens_web_ready.pdf. Accessed March23 2019."}],"container-title":["Health Security"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1089\/hs.2019.0061","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1089\/hs.2019.0061","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1089\/hs.2019.0061","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T08:39:42Z","timestamp":1777451982000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1089\/hs.2019.0061"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]]},"references-count":9,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1_suppl","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1089\/hs.2019.0061"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1089\/hs.2019.0061","relation":{},"ISSN":["2326-5094","2326-5108"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2326-5094","type":"print"},{"value":"2326-5108","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,1]]}}}