Civil-Military Collaboration to Facilitate Rapid Deployment of a Mobile Laboratory in Early Response to COVID-19 : A High-Readiness Exercise
(2021) In Health Security 19(5). p.488-497- Abstract
Rapid and adaptable diagnostic capabilities are of great importance in the face of emerging infectious diseases. In an outbreak, timely establishment of diagnostic routines is crucial to identifying cases and preventing the spread of the disease, especially when faced with high-consequence pathogens. In this article, we describe a multiagency exercise including the rapid deployment and diagnostic adaptation of the Swedish Armed Forces mobile laboratory (biological field analysis laboratory) in the context of COVID-19. This deployment was initiated as a high-readiness exercise at the end of January 2020, when the global development of the outbreak was still uncertain. Through collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and a... (More)
Rapid and adaptable diagnostic capabilities are of great importance in the face of emerging infectious diseases. In an outbreak, timely establishment of diagnostic routines is crucial to identifying cases and preventing the spread of the disease, especially when faced with high-consequence pathogens. In this article, we describe a multiagency exercise including the rapid deployment and diagnostic adaptation of the Swedish Armed Forces mobile laboratory (biological field analysis laboratory) in the context of COVID-19. This deployment was initiated as a high-readiness exercise at the end of January 2020, when the global development of the outbreak was still uncertain. Through collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and a civilian hospital, a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method specific to SARS-CoV-2 was made available and adapted to the mobile laboratory, and the team established and evaluated a functional and efficient diagnostic asset along with a logistical support chain. We also organized and evaluated mobile testing teams, and the method was later used in large-scale, national, cross-sectional COVID-19 surveys in several regions of Sweden. In this article, we focus on the challenges of overbridging the civil-military interface in this context and identifying lessons learned and added values to the response during the early pandemic. We propose that the experiences from this exercise and governmental agency collaboration are valuable in preparation for future outbreaks.
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- author
- Bacchus, Philip LU ; Nissen, Karolina ; Bråve, Andreas ; Gyll, Jenny ; Larsson, Christer ; Muradrasoli, Shaman ; Tellström, Andreas and Salaneck, Erik
- publishing date
- 2021-09-21
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- COVID-19, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Laboratories, Military Personnel, SARS-CoV-2
- in
- Health Security
- volume
- 19
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 10 pages
- publisher
- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:34542343
- scopus:85117529788
- ISSN
- 2326-5094
- DOI
- 10.1089/hs.2021.0011
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 18124f0b-7e53-4d01-81be-d7cd12df564a
- date added to LUP
- 2022-11-17 10:52:01
- date last changed
- 2024-10-04 03:11:19
@article{18124f0b-7e53-4d01-81be-d7cd12df564a,
abstract = {{<p>Rapid and adaptable diagnostic capabilities are of great importance in the face of emerging infectious diseases. In an outbreak, timely establishment of diagnostic routines is crucial to identifying cases and preventing the spread of the disease, especially when faced with high-consequence pathogens. In this article, we describe a multiagency exercise including the rapid deployment and diagnostic adaptation of the Swedish Armed Forces mobile laboratory (biological field analysis laboratory) in the context of COVID-19. This deployment was initiated as a high-readiness exercise at the end of January 2020, when the global development of the outbreak was still uncertain. Through collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and a civilian hospital, a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method specific to SARS-CoV-2 was made available and adapted to the mobile laboratory, and the team established and evaluated a functional and efficient diagnostic asset along with a logistical support chain. We also organized and evaluated mobile testing teams, and the method was later used in large-scale, national, cross-sectional COVID-19 surveys in several regions of Sweden. In this article, we focus on the challenges of overbridging the civil-military interface in this context and identifying lessons learned and added values to the response during the early pandemic. We propose that the experiences from this exercise and governmental agency collaboration are valuable in preparation for future outbreaks.</p>}},
author = {{Bacchus, Philip and Nissen, Karolina and Bråve, Andreas and Gyll, Jenny and Larsson, Christer and Muradrasoli, Shaman and Tellström, Andreas and Salaneck, Erik}},
issn = {{2326-5094}},
keywords = {{COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Laboratories; Military Personnel; SARS-CoV-2}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{488--497}},
publisher = {{Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.}},
series = {{Health Security}},
title = {{Civil-Military Collaboration to Facilitate Rapid Deployment of a Mobile Laboratory in Early Response to COVID-19 : A High-Readiness Exercise}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/hs.2021.0011}},
doi = {{10.1089/hs.2021.0011}},
volume = {{19}},
year = {{2021}},
}