4.3.4 Challenges of veterinary laboratories in LMIC constraints

Compared to human medicine, there are many fewer veterinary microbiology laboratories, and they are often underutilised in food animal disease investigations. In LMICs, the shortage of veterinary microbiology laboratories, skilled staff, access to veterinary services, and the high cost of testing are key challenges. Also, many of the farming enterprises in LMICs tend to be small-scale, low-input systems in remote locations, making sampling challenging both in taking samples and transporting them to the laboratory.

The diagnostic challenges faced by LMICs are well recognised. Global organisations, including WHO, OIE, and FAO, and international aid programmes such as the Fleming Fund (UK Aid) are partnering with other countries to build laboratory capacity and train staff in human and animal health laboratories.

Innovative approaches to disrupt the traditional microbiology laboratory model are being explored, such as telepathology, the use of algorithms to predict antimicrobial resistance, and rapid point-of-care tests. Many of the technologies being developed could take the laboratory into the community or to the site of sample collection. These new technologies offer great opportunities for diagnostics in LMICs provided they can be delivered with comparable accuracy to traditional methods, are low-cost, and able to overcome logistical challenges in the field (power, refrigeration, infrastructure, expertise, temperature, etc.).