Assessment of Laboratory Diagnostic Capacity for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers in Ondo State Public Hospitals

Ondo State, South West Nigeria, bears a disproportionate burden of Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) that requires specialised biosafety level 3 diagnostic facilities for safe and accurate testing. This study evaluates the current laboratory diagnostic capacity for viral haemorrhagic fevers, with emphasis on Lassa fever, at public hospitals in Ondo State. A cross-sectional facility assessment will be conducted at five public hospitals in Akure, Ondo, Owo, and Ikare using a structured tool adapted from the WHO Laboratory Capacity Assessment Toolkit. Assessed domains will include biosafety infrastructure, availability of personal protective equipment, functionality of real-time RT-PCR platforms, availability of validated VHF diagnostic kits, cold chain equipment, trained personnel, and specimen referral capacity. Key informant interviews with laboratory managers and infection control officers will supplement quantitative assessments. Published evaluations of Nigerian VHF laboratory systems highlight critical gaps in biosafety infrastructure and sample transport logistics outside of tertiary centres. Findings will document the specific diagnostic gaps in Ondo State's public laboratory network and provide a prioritised investment roadmap for the State Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to strengthen VHF diagnostic response capacity at district and referral hospital levels. Keywords: viral haemorrhagic fever, laboratory capacity, Lassa fever, Ondo State, biosafety