A malaria slide bank (MSB) is a useful asset for any malaria microscopy testing laboratory to have access to. However, it is not feasible for every country to have its own MSB. If countries are able to pool their resources, a regional MSB is a viable solution. This paper describes the methodology, costing and lessons learnt of establishing and maintaining an MSB over a 3-year period, for a Southern Africa Development Community region. A national reference laboratory in South Africa was granted funding for setting up the MSB; it possessed experienced staff and suitable resources. Two additional full-time personnel were employed to carry out the activities of this project. Strict protocols for donor/patient blood sample screening, smear preparation, mass staining, quality control and slide validation were followed. Slides from the MSB were used for training and proficiency testing purposes. The initial and recurrent yearly costs to set up and maintain the MSB were calculated. Over 35 months, 154 batches (26,623 slides) were prepared; the majority were Plasmodium falciparum. Ninety-two percent (141/154) of batches passed internal quality control, and 89% (93/104) passed external validation. From these slides, two training slide sets and six proficiency testing slide sets were sent out. The initial year’s cost to establish an MSB was calculated at approximately $165,000, and the recurrent year-on-year cost was $130,000. The key components for maintaining a high-quality MSB are consistent funding, competent staff and adherence to standardized protocols. Travel to malaria-endemic areas for access to non-falciparum malaria species, and dilution of P. falciparum blood to desired parasite densities, are extremely useful to ensure variety. The MSB created here supported multiple laboratories in eight countries, and has the potential to expand.

中文翻译：

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通过开发区域疟疾幻灯片库提高南部非洲的疟疾诊断质量

疟疾载玻片库 (MSB) 是任何疟疾显微镜检测实验室都可以使用的有用资产。然而，并不是每个国家都有自己的 MSB。如果各国能够集中资源，区域 MSB 是一个可行的解决方案。本文介绍了在 3 年内为南部非洲发展共同体地区建立和维护 MSB 的方法、成本计算和经验教训。南非的一个国家参考实验室获得了建立 MSB 的资金；它拥有经验丰富的工作人员和适当的资源。另外雇用了两名全职人员来开展该项目的活动。遵循严格的供体/患者血液样本筛查、涂片制备、质量染色、质量控制和载玻片验证方案。MSB 的幻灯片用于培训和能力测试目的。计算了建立和维护 MSB 的初始和经常性年度成本。在 35 个月内，准备了 154 批（26,623 张载玻片）；大多数是恶性疟原虫。92% (141/154) 的批次通过了内部质量控制，89% (93/104) 通过了外部验证。从这些幻灯片中，发出了两套培训幻灯片和六套能力验证幻灯片。建立 MSB 的第一年成本约为 165,000 美元，而经常性同比成本为 130,000 美元。维持高质量 MSB 的关键要素是稳定的资金、称职的员工和遵守标准化协议。前往疟疾流行地区获取非恶性疟疾物种，并稀释疟原虫。恶性疟原虫血液达到所需的寄生虫密度，对于确保品种非常有用。这里创建的 MSB 支持八个国家的多个实验室，并具有扩展的潜力。