Experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Ohio State University Global One Health initiative (GOHi) provided real-time PCR training to detect genetic markers associated with Carbapenem Resistance as part of the CDC-funded Global Action in Healthcare Network Antimicrobial Resistance (GAIHN-AR) project.
GOHi team members Zelalem Mekuria and Tadesse Eguale provided virtual and e-learning modules for staff members from the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) on basic laboratory and molecular biology using the CDC e-learning platform.
As a continuation of this theoretical training, GOHi hosted a practical real-time PCR (RT-PCR) training from July 24 to August 4 at EPHI's microbiology laboratory.
Natashia Reese, CDC, Joan Miquel Balada-Llasat, Ohio State, and Tadesse Eguale, Ohio State, provided training on RT-PCR to enhance the capacity of microbiologists from the National Reference Laboratory on the characterization of genetic markers associated with multidrug resistance with special focus on the detection of genes encoding for Carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant enterobacterales (CP-CREs).
The training involved theoretical presentations on principles of PCR and hands-on practices where trainees could perform each step of RT-PCR protocol, including preparation of the working environment, lysate preparation, reagent preparation, running the PCR test and analysis and interpreting the result.