In November 2007, the official inauguration of the Early HIV Infant Diagnosis (EID) Laboratory at Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza took place. This laboratory is the first in Tanzania that will be able to detect HIV infection in children as young as four weeks of age. By taking a drop of an infant’s blood, putting it onto a filter paper and processing it in the machine, the diagnosis of HIV can be made.

Before this equipment was sent to Bugando, it was not possible to know whether a baby was infected with HIV until he or she was 18 months. Now babies can be diagnosed and treated at an earlier age, preventing infant deaths from HIV.

The laboratory was developed through technical and financial support provided to Bugando by the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program of Columbia University (ICAP-CU), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and with the support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC).

Actually, the laboratory began offering services in October 2006 as part of a pilot project in three health facilities in Mwanza. To date, over 1300 infants have received early HIV
testing at Bugando. At the present time, over 35 health facilities in 6 regions are accessing the lab services and the laboratory will be able to process samples from across the country. This represents a major advancement in the diagnosis and treatment of AIDs in infants.