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Organization Contact Information | |
| Name: | Bio-Containment Infrastructure Services |
| Street 1: | 511-5 Freeman str |
| Street 2: | Midstream Estate |
| City: | Midrand |
| Province: | Gauteng |
| Post Code: | 1683 |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Phone: | +27 82 620 7339 |
| Organization Email: | ingrid@biolab.co.za |
| Web Site: | http://www.biolab.co.za |
| Other Online Presence: | |
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General Information | |
| Board Constituency: | Private sector |
| Is your organization legally registered in your country: | Yes |
| If yes, please enter your registration number: | |
| Organization Type - Primary: | Private Sector |
| Organization Type - Secondary: | Company |
| Organization Description: | |
| Think Inside the Box Biocontainment Infrastructure Services (BIS) designs and develops rapid deployment modular containerised laboratories (MCLs™) for high-profile clients across South Africa, throughout Africa and in other developing nations. Our MCLs™ are specifically designed to address the challenges associated with health care and research in resource-poor countries with weak infrastructure and poor building standards. They are quickly and easily implemented, and provide cost-effective laboratory solutions for governments, development agencies, medical and research service providers and aid organisations working in these environments. |
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| Do you know about the UNHLM declaration: | |
Specializations / Areas of Work | |
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Delivery of health services and care |
Other Organization Information | |
| Total number of staff in your organization: | 1 - 5 |
| Number of full-time staff who are directly involved with TB: | 1 - 5 |
| Number of part-time staff who are directly involved with TB: | 0 |
| Number of volunteers who are directly involved with TB: | 0 |
| How did you hear about the Stop TB Partnership: | Other partners |
| If you were informed or referred by another partner of the Stop TB Partnership please tell us who: | |
| Why do you wish join the Stop TB Partnership: | Technical assistance and advice |
| Are you a member of a Stop TB national partnership: | No |
| Are you in contact with your national TB programme: | Yes |
| Please tell us how your organization is contributing to your country's national TB control plan: | |
| Biocontainment Infrastructure Services (BIS) BIS is owned and managed by Ingrid Terlouw, who has more than 30 years’ experience working in the South African pathology sector. She has developed and implemented in excess of 35 clinical laboratories in South Africa since the early 1990s, and a number of laboratories beyond our borders – the first of which was the Botswana Private Hospital. She was instrumental in the rollout of the first containerised laboratories in SA’s rural areas as part of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding opportunity to strengthen laboratory infrastructure. This success prompted BIS to venture into other countries with similar constraints, and as a result the first CTL™ was delivered to the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) in Lusaka, Zambia. We collaborate with Air Filter Maintenance Services (AFMS) in the implementation and commissioning of BSL 3 laboratories. Barry Kosloff, who is affiliated with the Zambia AIDS Related TB (ZAMBART) Project – a collaborative project between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka – is our technical and scientific advisor. We’re a proud member of the South African Quality Institute and the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry. |
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Geographical Reach | |
| Which country is your headquarters located in: | South Africa |
| Which countries do you do operate in: (This includes countries you are conducting activities in) |
Angola Bangladesh Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cote d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Ecuador Eswatini Ghana Haiti Indonesia Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Mozambique Myanmar Nigeria Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Rwanda Senegal Trinidad and Tobago Zambia Zimbabwe |
Contribution | |
| Please tell us how your organization will contribute to the Global Plan to Stop TB by briefly describing its involvement in any of the areas of work listed below: | |
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Laboratory Strengthening: Containerised TB Laboratories We have been actively involved in the development of a rapid deployment Bio Safety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory for the past four years. The unit has been specifically designed for countries affected by TB, and answers to the UN Millennium Development Goal # 6. One such unit is the Containerised TB Laboratory (CTL™). The CTL™ is housed in a specially converted shipping container that is connected to an appropriate mechanical ventilation system and relevant safety equipment. It has proved to be a cost-effective safety solution for development agencies in Zambia where it was first pioneered in 2008, as well as other developing countries. CTLs™ take around 10 weeks to manufacture, but their inherent strength and transportability – inherited from their robust and mobile shipping container shells – allow for onsite deployment within one week. TB research in Africa, South America, Asia and developing European countries has increased significantly in recent years. The CTL™ has a direct application in epidemiological surveillance studies as well as the professional development of health care staff working in those communities, providing a safe and functional diagnostic environment. Both the MCL™ and CTL™ containerized laboratories have proven to be safe, efficient and cost-effective tools in performing large-scale testing for TB prevalence surveys and other research applications in less-developed countries. These designs may serve as low-cost models for expanding and decentralising TB or PCR capacity as a platform for testing new diagnostic technologies in less-developed areas. OUR PROJECTS Gaborone, Botswana Client Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), joint initiative between Botswana and the USA Application: Containerised TB Laboratory CTL™ for a TB research programme and supporting the Botswana National TB reference laboratory Port-au-Prince, Haiti Client Laboratoire National de Sante Publique – HAITI National reference laboratory Application: National Reference Laboratory for TB in an area where infrastructure remains a challenge Lima, Peru Client Socios en Salud (SES), supported by Partners in Health (PIH) Application: BSL 3 Laboratory for TB research within a secure and safe environment Lusaka, Zambia Client Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) CIDRZ is a research group with international members from the University of Alabama in Birmingham Application: BSL 3 laboratory for the improvement of TB diagnoses in patients infected with HIV, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Zambia |
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Declaration | |
| Declaration of interests: No conflict of interest | |
| Application date: | May 8, 2014 |
| Last updated: | June 11, 2014 |