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TB Central Reference Laboratory
TB central Reference Laboratory was established in the year 1956 by Ministry of health and the British Research Council. Over the years it has served as a center of excellence as the only TB culture/DST Laboratory.
CRL falls under the Ministry of health department of disease prevention and control with National public health laboratory services being its administrative department.
CRL works closely with the Division of Leprosy, Tuberculosis & Lung Disease (DLTLD) which falls under the department of Disease Prevention and Control. CRL serves both local and other eastern African contries (Uganda and Southern Sudan).
The CRL core function is to oversee culture and DST in the whole country other functions:
- Develop National policy as it relates to TB Laboratory protocols/procedures
- Training and Technical support to the provincecs and counties
- Quality assurance planning and coordination
- Routine drug resistance surveillance
- Supervision and Monitoring
- Research
CRL receives approximately 150-250 samples per week from retreatment cases for culture and DST in the country. DLTLD policy is that all retreatment cases reported in the country have to be done culture and DST. The DLTLD ensures the collection and transportation of sputum specimens from remote settings to a quality controlled TB culture Lab.CRL procedures for culture & DST are standardized inline with WHO recommendations. currently
The CRL is linked to a Supra reference Laboratory (SRL) Brisbane for External quality assurance (EQA) and interventions has been based on the assesment of the SRL.
TB Culture and DST are available in Five other Laboratories in the Country, They are:
- Moi Teaching and Referal Hospital
- Homabay (MSF)
- Nairobi Hospital-Private
- Agha Khan hospital Private
- KEMRI/CRDR mainly research