The training of professionals from the provinces of Camagüey and Sancti Spíritus in the Molecular Biology Laboratory (LBM by its Spanish initials) of the Roberto Rodríguez Fernández General Teaching Hospital, in the territory of Ciego de Ávila, positions the central region of the country in better conditions to increase performance of RT-PCR tests.

Dr. Niurys Martín Pérez, deputy director of Medical Assistance of the aforementioned institution, explained that the LBM group from Ciego de Ávila participated in the training of the Camagüey`s counterparts and shared their experiences with the personnel who will assume this task in Sancti Spíritus, whose laboratory should be inaugurated soon.

“In groups of three, they join our group as associate members, for 15 days, in teaching and practical activities that allow them to acquire skills in processing samples. The final evaluation consists of carrying out a PCR-RT test,” Niurys explained, who is also II Degree Specialist in Microbiology.

With five months of uninterrupted work and a staff trained by experts from the Pedro Kourí Institute (IPK by its Spanish initials) from the Villa Clara province, the LBM of the Roberto Rodríguez Fernández General Teaching Hospital, located in the city of Morón, constitutes one of the main strengths for the confrontation with SARS-CoV-2 in the central region of the country.

Since its inauguration, on October 2, 2020, it has processed more than 170 000 samples for RT-PCR tests, from all over the Ciego de ávila geography and from the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Sancti Spíritus.

Its work is also decisive for the development of tourist operations and the health control of travelers from other latitudes.

In the future, this center will allow the study of other cases from the molecular point of view to obtain genetic information and make more accurate diagnoses.