The partnership between the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) and the Bombo Referral Hospital in Tanga, Tanzania seeks to improve the treatment of febrile illnesses and gastrointestinal and urinary-tract infections in children, and to expand capacity for laboratory diagnostics for these conditions. The partners are thus building on their predecessor project, which saw them working on targeted diagnosis of febrile illnesses and antibiotic resistance.
Context:
With the causes of infections rarely investigated in labs in Tanzania, most pathogens remain undetected. Therapies are typically non-specific, which often leads to treatment errors. Mortality rates for untreated or incorrectly treated infectious diseases are especially high among children under the age of five.
Activities:
- Joint identification of training needs and creation of training materials for doctors, nurses and lab staff
- Training in laboratory diagnostic procedures for lab staff
- Training for doctors and nurses in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in children
Results:
Targeted training in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases reduces mortality rates for children under five in Tanzania. The new learning units could be used in the long term to pass on knowledge at the Bombo Referral Hospital and other hospitals in the vicinity.