Optimizing public health preparedness for highly infectious diseases in Central Vietnam

Abstract

Our study aimed to evaluate the need for and availability of point-of-care testing (POCT) for infectious diseases in Thua Thien Hue Province (TTHP), Central Vietnam, and to recommend strategies and Spatial Care Paths™ (SCPs) to enhance public health preparedness. Field surveys were conducted with medical professionals across seven community health centers (CHCs), seven district hospitals (DHs), and one provincial hospital (PH) in TTHP. The surveys assessed the current diagnostic testing capabilities for infectious diseases and other acute medical conditions.

The findings reveal significant gaps in infectious disease testing capabilities: six of the seven CHCs (86%) lacked diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, with only one CHC (14%) offering malaria tests. None of the CHCs had adequate microbiology laboratories. District hospitals provided limited diagnostic options, with 29% having blood culture capabilities and 57% offering pathogen culture, but only basic tests for tuberculosis and syphilis. The PH had more comprehensive diagnostic capabilities but was unprepared for highly infectious diseases such as Ebola, MERS-CoV, SARS, Zika, and monkeypox. While all sites reported availability of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, COVID-19 RT-PCR tests were restricted to higher-tier hospitals.

The study concludes that there is a critical need for improved infectious disease diagnostic testing and the expansion of point-of-care tests to primary care settings and near patients' homes. This would facilitate early detection of infections and better control of the spread of COVID-19 variants and other highly infectious diseases.