The COVID-19 pandemic required massive testing of potential patients in resource-constrained areas in Senegal. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on 2 March 2020 in Dakar city and on 10 March, the first cases were reported in Touba city, the second most populous city in Senegal. Following the scale of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Touba city, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar mobile laboratory truck (MLT) was deployed on March 13 to bring diagnostics to the point of need for better management of patient and outbreak control. The MLT deployed is a 6 × 6 truck equipped with an isolator for sample inactivation, a generator and batteries to ensure energy autonomy, and a molecular platform for pathogens detection. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected from suspected COVID-19 cases and sent to the MLT located at the Touba primary healthcare center. Samples were extracted and RNA amplified by real time qRT-PCR. A total of 11,693 samples were collected from 14 regions of Senegal and tested between March to August 2021. Within the samples tested, 10.6% (1240/1693) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, the MLT allowed the confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19 in 25 out of 79 health districts of Senegal. Thereby, the MLT deployment during the first 6 months of COVID-19 in Senegal allowed rapid processing of suspected case samples collected in Touba and other surrounding areas and, thus, significantly contributed to the outbreak response and early case management in Senegal.
