PUBLICATIONS · PEER-REVIEWED · 2025 – 2026
Evidence, not opinions.
Journal articles, conference presentations, and the WHO guideline update that the Cameroon evidence streams I lead data for contributed to.
FIRST & CORRESPONDING AUTHORPREPRINT
Implementation of pooled testing of sputum specimens from multiple individuals for rapid molecular detection of tuberculosis in Cameroon
openRxiv — preprint (posted 23 March 2026)
First large-scale programmatic evaluation of TB pooled testing. 71,328 sputum specimens across 16 GeneXpert laboratories and 6 regions of Cameroon (Oct 2023 – Mar 2025). 59,164 specimens tested in pools of 2–8 consumed only 20,838 Ultra cartridges (0.35 cartridges per result), enabling 38,326 additional people to be tested. Time to result fell from 66 min (individual) to 45→10 min (pools of 2→8). Cost per result: $2.81 pooled vs $7.97 individual. Core evidence stream behind the WHO 9 March 2026 recommendation on sputum pooling.
38,326
additional people tested
$2.81
per result (vs $7.97)
TBPooled testingImplementation scienceFirst authorCorresponding authorWHO evidence
POLICY · GUIDELINEPOLICY · GUIDELINEWHO · 9 MAR 2026
WHO recommendations on near-point-of-care TB tests, tongue swabs, and sputum pooling
World Health Organization — Guideline update
Recommendations issued 9 March 2026 — the first time WHO formally endorsed near-point-of-care molecular TB tests, tongue swabs as an alternative to sputum, and sputum pooling to expand molecular testing capacity. Cameroon evidence streams from Start4All and TB Reach Wave 10 — for which I served as Country Data Manager / Data Manager — contributed to the underlying evidence base. LSTM's 27 February 2026 commentary explicitly cited the programme.
WHOPolicyGuidelineTB diagnostics9 March 2026
CO-AUTHOR (7TH)JOURNAL
Diagnostic Performance of the Pluslife MiniDock MTB and Molbio MTB Ultima Assays to Detect Tuberculosis From Tongue and Sputum Swabs Among Outpatients and in Active Case Finding in Cameroon
Clinical Infectious Diseases (Oxford University Press)
Head-to-head diagnostic accuracy evaluation of two low-cost near-point-of-care molecular TB assays (Pluslife MiniDock MTB and Molbio MTB Ultima) against Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, using tongue and sputum swabs. 1,097 participants across 5 health facilities and active case-finding events in Cameroon. Sputum-swab sensitivity 79–91% (MiniDock) and 74–89% (MTB Ultima); specificity > 95%. MiniDock operated in the field at 35–40 °C ambient with solar power, < $200 instrument, < $4 test cost. Feeds into WHO's 9 March 2026 recommendations on near-POC TB tests and tongue swabs.
79–91%
MiniDock sputum sensitivity
35–40 °C
field operating range
TBDiagnosticsTongue swabsNear-POCCIDActive case finding
CO-AUTHOR (3RD OF 14)JOURNAL
Implementation of pooled testing to increase access to routine viral load monitoring for people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy
Scientific Reports (Springer Nature), vol. 15, 14713
Peer-reviewed implementation evaluation at the TB Reference Laboratory Bamenda using the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 viral load assay in pools of three. 12,396 plasma specimens processed with only 6,797 assays (0.55 assays per result) — a 45% saving that enabled an additional 5,409 people (+80% capacity) to receive routine viral load results. Bland–Altman mean bias only –0.51 log copies/mL; estimated misclassification of unsuppressed specimens at 0.01% under the implemented ≥ 40 copies/mL cutoff.
5,409
additional people served
0.01%
misclassification rate
HIVViral loadPooled testingImplementation scienceScientific ReportsMethod validation
PRESENTING AUTHORCONFERENCE
Chest X-ray AI scores guide pooled testing to increase access to rapid molecular testing for TB in communities in Cameroon
Union World Conference on Lung Health 2025 · E-Poster EP10-793-19 · Copenhagen
Implementation-science evidence that CXR-AI-guided pooled testing cuts cartridge consumption by 45% across 2,183 specimens in community case-finding. Track K2 TB diagnostics, Enhanced TB detection session, 19 November 2025.
TBAI triagePooled testingCommunity case findingUnion 2025