Laboratory capacity building in Asia for infectious disease research: experiences from the South East Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (SEAICRN).

Enhancing laboratory capacity is essential for generating reliable and accurate data from clinical research, especially in resource-constrained settings. Local well-trained laboratory experts and scientists are important to research, and must participate actively in scientific activities and continuing education programs. Improving laboratory capacity is more than supplying new equipment and reagents; it also includes a long-term commitment to staff training, quality control, and biosafety. Improved laboratory capacity optimizes responses to an epidemic or an outbreak of a novel virulent pathogens, and can support international agendas to reduce the impact of pandemic influenza viruses. © 2010 Wertheim et al