{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T12:30:43Z","timestamp":1753878643030,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,12]],"date-time":"2023-11-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699747200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":11,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Influenza Resp Viruses"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]},"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>Afghanistan experienced various outbreaks before and during the Covid\u201019 pandemic, including dengue, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), measles, and acute watery diarrhea (AWD). Diagnostic and surveillance support was limited, with only the Central Public Health Laboratory equipped to handle outbreak responses. This article highlights initiatives taken to improve diagnostic capabilities for COVID\u201019 and other outbreaks of public health concern encountered during the pandemic.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Background<\/jats:title>The World Health Organization (WHO) Afghanistan Country Office collaborated with the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), and National Influenza Center (NIC) to enhance COVID\u201019 diagnostic capacity at national and subnational facilities. To alleviate pressure on CPHL, a state\u2010of\u2010the\u2010art laboratory was established at the National Infectious Disease Hospital (NIDH) in Kabul in 2021\u20132022, while WHO EMRO facilitated the regionalization of testing to subnational facilities for dengue, CCHF, and AWD in 2022\u20132023.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Results<\/jats:title>COVID\u201019 testing capacity expanded nationwide to 34 Biosafety Level II labs, improving diagnosis time. Daily testing rose from 1000 in 2020 to 9200 in 2023, with 848,799 cumulative tests. NIDH identified 229 CCHF cases and 45 cases nationally. Dengue and CCHF testing, decentralized to Nangarhar and Kandahar labs, identified 338 dengue and 18 CCHF cases. AWD testing shifted to NIDH and five subnational facilities (Kandahar, Paktia, Balkh, Herat, and Nangarhar labs), while measles testing also decentralized to nine subnational facilities.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Conclusion<\/jats:title>Afghanistan implemented a remarkable, multisectoral response to priority pathogens. The nation now possesses diagnostic expertise at national and subnational levels, supported by genomic surveillance. Future efforts should concentrate on expanding and sustaining this capacity to enhance public health responses.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/irv.13210","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,13]],"date-time":"2023-11-13T02:10:07Z","timestamp":1699841407000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Implementation and expansion of laboratory capacity for molecular diagnostics in response to COVID\u201019 and preparedness for other emerging infectious diseases in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Murad Momin","family":"Khan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed Mostafa","family":"Tahoun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"},{"name":"High Institute of Public Health Alexandria University Alexandria Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3802-8290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luke W.","family":"Meredith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office World Health Organization Cairo Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amal","family":"Barakat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office World Health Organization Cairo Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hafizullah","family":"Safi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Nasir","family":"Hanifi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Directorate of Diagnostic Services Ministry of Public Health Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohammad Omar","family":"Mashal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdul Wahid","family":"Amiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alaa","family":"Abouzeid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Afghanistan Country Office World Health Organization Kabul Afghanistan"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine Cairo University Cairo Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,12]]},"reference":[{"unstructured":"World Health Organization Countries.https:\/\/www.who.int\/countries\/afg","key":"e_1_2_10_2_1"},{"unstructured":"WHO\/AFRO.Genome sequencing central to COVID\u201019 response.2021.https:\/\/www.afro.who.int\/news\/genome-sequencing-central-covid-19-response","key":"e_1_2_10_3_1"},{"volume-title":"Methods for the Detection and Identification of SARS\u2010CoV\u20102 Variants","year":"2021","author":"European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control","key":"e_1_2_10_4_1"},{"unstructured":"Erasmus Medical Center Virology Clinic https:\/\/www.erasmusmc.nl\/en\/patient-care\/laboratoriumspecialismen\/klinische-virologie","key":"e_1_2_10_5_1"},{"volume-title":"Laboratory Biosafety Manual","year":"2020","author":"Biosecurity & Health Security Protection EPP","key":"e_1_2_10_6_1"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"e_1_2_10_7_1","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.04.30.069039"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"e_1_2_10_8_1","DOI":"10.1093\/biomethods\/bpaa014"},{"unstructured":"Global World Health Organization COVID\u201019 Dashboard.https:\/\/covid19.who.int\/","key":"e_1_2_10_9_1"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"e_1_2_10_10_1","DOI":"10.26719\/2022.28.12.851"},{"unstructured":"US Centers for Disease Control Measles Information.https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/vaccines\/vpd\/measles\/index.html","key":"e_1_2_10_11_1"}],"container-title":["Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/irv.13210","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,14]],"date-time":"2023-12-14T18:01:14Z","timestamp":1702576874000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/irv.13210"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/irv.13210"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/irv.13210","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1750-2640","1750-2659"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"1750-2640"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1750-2659"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2023-06-07","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-09-29","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-11-12","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e13210"}}