A Nigerian mobile lab has been operating in Sierra Leone as part of the international effort to help test Ebola samples in the current outbreak. The lab saves critical hours by testing the samples rapidly and reducing the need to transport samples over long distances. The lab plans to return to Nigeria to work on Lassa fever when the Ebola outbreak is over.
A mobile laboratory with six Nigerian laboratory scientists and technicians has been operating in Sierra Leone since mid-December as part of the international effort to help test Ebola samples in the current outbreak. The mobile laboratory was initially set up for Lassa fever research in Nigeria. The mobile laboratory first became active when the first Ebola case appeared in Nigeria.

Supported by the European Union Mobile Laboratory Consortium (EMLAB) and the African Union, the international deployment of the mobile laboratory was coordinated though WHO’s Emerging and Dangerous Pathogens Laboratory Network (EDPLN), and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). The mobile lab became active when an Ebola case appeared in Nigeria.