Evaluation of Microbiological Testing Capacity in State Public Health Laboratories in Taraba State

Functional public health laboratories with adequate microbiological testing capacity are fundamental to disease surveillance, outbreak response, and antimicrobial resistance monitoring. This study evaluated microbiological testing capacity in the three State Public Health Laboratories (SPHLs) of Taraba State, North East Nigeria. A standardized laboratory capacity assessment tool adapted from the WHO Laboratory Assessment Tool (LAT) was applied, covering domains of staffing, equipment, reagent supply, test menu, quality management, and biosafety. External quality assessment (EQA) performance data from the West African Health Organisation program were reviewed for a three-year period. Results showed critical capacity gaps across all three laboratories. Only one laboratory had functional automated blood culture systems. Bacteriological culture and sensitivity testing was available in all three, but capacity for fungal identification and mycobacteriology was available in only one facility. EQA proficiency scores averaged 54 percent across all participating laboratories over three years, below the 80 percent target. Intermittent reagent stockouts were reported by all facilities, causing testing gaps averaging 23 days per year. Staffing shortfalls included absence of trained mycologists and molecular microbiologists. These findings document severe microbiological testing capacity deficits in Taraba State public health laboratories and highlight the need for targeted infrastructure investment, reagent supply chain stabilization, and specialist human resource development in the North East geopolitical zone. Keywords: public health laboratory, microbiological capacity, Taraba State, EQA, laboratory assessment.