CARPHA Strengthens Public Health Laboratories in Ten Member States to Reduce Threat Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. April 28, 2025. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Vector-Borne Diseases Unit and Medical and Microbiology Laboratory, launched a series of laboratory training workshops for the detection of arboviruses[1] given the regional and global public health threat of mosquito-borne diseases. The initiative, supported by the 11th European Development Fund, aimed to build national public health laboratory capacity for early diagnosis and surveillance of mosquito-borne diseases in ten (10) CARPHA Member States (CMS). This effort followed a record-breaking year for dengue in 2024, during which CARPHA reported a five-fold increase in arboviral testing, with 11 Member States seeking surge support amidst widespread outbreaks across the Caribbean—driven primarily by DENV-3 and DENV-2 serotypes.
These training workshops are tailored to provide public health laboratories in CMS with technical recommendations on sample submission criterion, reception, handling, storage and transport and its impact on assay testing algorithms[2]. Participants would also be introduced to principles that can be incorporated into laboratory surveillance of arboviral diseases as well as the interpretation and quality control of laboratory results. Moreover, enhanced diagnosis at national public health laboratories would contribute to the regional agenda of real-time characterisation of arboviruses and improved understanding of their transmission dynamics in the Caribbean region.
The first two workshops, held in Grenada from February 17–21, 2025 and St. Kitts and Nevis from March 10–14, 2025 were attended by Chief Medical Officers Dr. Shawn Charles and Dr. Hazel Laws respectively. Both CMOs offered remarks that underscored the importance of enhanced laboratory capacity in national and regional public health responses. The third workshop was completed in Grand Turk, of the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday, March 28, 2025. To date, a total of eighteen (18) laboratory professionals across three (3) CMS have benefited from these critical capacity building training sessions.
“Building in-country capacity for the use of arboviral diagnostics not only strengthens local health systems, but also contributes to the regional agenda for more resilient, responsive, and integrated surveillance networks”, said Dr. Horace Cox, Acting Director, Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control at CARPHA. He added, “These trainings represent a critical investment in our ability to detect and respond to arboviral threats across the Caribbean”.
Supported by funding from the European Union through the 11th EDF Zika Project, each of ten CARPHA Member States will benefit from the training of at least three laboratory professionals, contributing to a minimum target of 30 trained personnel across the region by August 2025.
These workshops are designed to:
- Acquaint public health laboratory professionals to the status of arboviruses with major epidemiological significance across the Caribbean region and neighbouring territories;
-Train laboratory professionals in arboviral diagnostic techniques, including "serological: (ELISA) and molecular: PCR-based methods;
- Share best practices for sample handling, quality control, and diagnostic algorithms;
- Enhance understanding of data interpretation and reporting mechanisms.
The training includes both theoretical and hands-on laboratory sessions focused on the detection of Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya viruses. CARPHA remains committed to working with its Member States and partners to advance disease prevention, laboratory excellence, and community response across the Caribbean.
For more information on the extensive work of CARPHA, including that of the Vector-borne Disease and CARPHA Medical and Microbiology Laboratory (CMML) departments, follow CARPHA on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram or visit the website: www.carpha.org
