PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) says it has successfully installed Molbio rapid testing platforms across 10 of its member territories under the Pandemic Fund Project.

CARPHA said that as of March 26, this year, installations have been completed in Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

It said that these platforms strengthen the region’s capacity for rapid testing and response to infectious diseases and pathogens of pandemic potential.

The systems support testing for several pathogens of public health importance, including SARS-CoV-2, Norovirus, Rabies, Leptospira, Salmonella, Cholera, Nipah, Influenza, Malaria, HIV, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis.

CARPHA said that through improved access to PCR rapid testing technologies, it, along with member states, is strengthening regional pandemic preparedness and response capacities.

“The successful completion of the Molbio installations across our member states represents a transformative step in advancing regional laboratory capacity,” said Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA’s executive director.

“By combining cutting-edge diagnostic technology with targeted workforce training, CARPHA is ensuring that countries are better prepared to detect, respond to and manage public health threats in real time.”

CARPHA said that in parallel with the installation of the platforms, it has trained over 50 laboratory professionals across participating member states in the use and operation of the systems. This investment in workforce development strengthens technical capacity within national laboratory networks and supports the sustainability of these diagnostic services.

CARPHA said that the importance of rapid deployment was demonstrated in Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa in October last year, where the platform was installed and laboratory staff trained within days of the event to support continued testing capacity and emergency response readiness.

“These modern diagnostic resources have strengthened the region’s ability to detect infectious diseases quickly, confirm outbreaks earlier and support effective public health action to mitigate or avert threats to lives and livelihoods.

“By reducing testing turnaround times from days to under two hours, the introduction of rapid PCR molecular testing tools supports earlier diagnosis, faster isolation of cases and improved containment of infectious diseases.”

CARPHA said that the initiative also contributes to enhanced regional surveillance systems, improved outbreak detection and response, strengthened early warning systems and increased resilience of national health systems.

CARPHA, which was established in 2011 and serves as a central body for preventing disease, promoting health and responding to public health emergencies, said it remains committed to supporting member states through integrated laboratory networks under the Caribbean Public Health Laboratory Network (CariPHLN) and through continued investments in laboratory strengthening and pandemic preparedness.

“Next steps include routine testing at all 10 participating member states, with data shared weekly with CARPHA through the Molbio reporting sheet. This will support timely integration of data into regional surveillance systems and ongoing monitoring of the Molbio platforms.

“The strengthened reporting mechanism will enhance early warning systems by providing CARPHA and member states with timely information to initiate response measures to emerging public health threats,” the Trinidad-based agency added.