In its quest to attain the 90-90-90 for treatment target of people living with HIV/AIDS, the Ministry of Health embarked on scaling up of Viral load testing across the country, Kitwe Teaching Hospital like all tertiary health facilities in the country was earmarked for a viral load testing. This development was finally actualized in 2018 after having a series of meetings between the Ministry and its cooperating partners.

The coming of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or Viral Load Machine came with some challenges, such as lack of space and adequate human resources among others. However, with continued engagement of Hospital management and the Ministry of Health (MOH) with its cooperating partners, some challenges have been overcome and started bearing some fruit. The MOH and its cooperating partner USAID-Discover Health engaged three Technologists to specifically work on this mammoth project. Furthermore, two more nontechnical staff were engaged for data capture and other Information Technology ( IT) related matters . This engagement boosted the staffing levels at the facility much to the appeasement of Management.  As a way to mitigate limited space the Senior Medical Superintendent through senior management offered to relocate Doctors Common room from third floor where the main laboratory is situated on the ground floor to confine the laboratory work flow to one floor for easy work management.

The coming of the Polymerase Chain reaction laboratory could not have come at a better time than now for KTH. Previously, KTH like other health facilities in the northern region of the Copperbelt used to refer viral load and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) to either Arthur Davison or Ndola Teaching Hospitals in Ndola. Following the successful training and installation of the state of the art piece of equipment it was handed over and operations started in the month of November, 2018. Initially the facility was allocated to process samples from Lufwanyama, USAID-Discover sites and KTH itself on a trial basis.

Since then, the facility has expanded its operations and caters for almost the entire northern districts of the Copperbelt. In fulfillment of the Quality Management System (QMS), PCR laboratory is enlisted on National Health laboratory Services for External Quality Assessment. To this end the facility also participates in the interlaboratory comparisons of samples with other laboratories in the region as a requirement for accreditation.

The opening of PCR/ EID at KTH has not only shortened the turnaround time for results but it has enhanced effective patient management for KTH and surrounding facilities, and further to this it has also expanded the testing profile and the scope befitting a referral laboratory of KTH laboratory status

Reagents and other consumables to run the samples are acquired centrally and come from Medical Stores Limited. Mainstream and auxiliary equipment are maintained and serviced by Biogroup through a running a contract with MOH, while other pieces of equipment are maintained by MOH and its cooperating partners..