Adeleke Adeyeni Suliat Driving Nigeria’s Molecular Surveillance Against Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

By Ugo Aliogo

In Nigeria’s long and costly battle against tuberculosis, the margin between control and crisis is measured in days, not months. As drug-resistant strains spread faster than conventional systems can respond, the country’s public health defense increasingly depends on laboratories that can see resistance early, interpret it accurately, and trigger action immediately. It is within this pressure-filled space that Adeleke Adeyeni Suliat has emerged as a pivotal force, helping to redefine how Nigeria confronts drug-resistant tuberculosis through frontline molecular surveillance.

Inside the South West Zonal Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Suliat’s work represents a quiet revolution. Tuberculosis diagnosis in much of sub-Saharan Africa has historically been slowed by dependence on microscopy and prolonged culture methods, tools ill-suited to the urgency of multidrug-resistant TB. By the time results arrive, transmission has often already occurred. Suliat’s intervention helped break that cycle, shifting the laboratory’s role from retrospective confirmation to real-time public health intelligence.

At the center of this transformation is molecular detection. Through intensive use of GeneXpert platforms, Suliat supported rapid identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis alongside simultaneous detection of resistance to key first-line drugs. Processing hundreds of samples weekly, she helped turn molecular diagnostics into an early-warning system, one capable of flagging resistant cases while treatment decisions and containment strategies could still change outcomes. Each result became a trigger, not an endpoint, activating surveillance teams to trace contacts and interrupt spread without delay .

What makes Suliat’s contribution genuinely revolutionary is not technology alone, but integration. Trained with a strong foundation in hematology and blood transfusion science, she brought a cross-disciplinary lens to tuberculosis control. TB does not exist in isolation within the body; it reshapes hematological profiles, driving anemia, chronic inflammation, and immune dysregulation that influence prognosis and therapy. By correlating molecular resistance data with hematological patterns, Suliat helped clinicians see beyond pathogen detection to disease behavior, an insight that proved especially critical in complex, drug-resistant cases.

This convergence of molecular microbiology and hematology reshaped clinical decision-making in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Where delayed or inappropriate therapy can accelerate resistance and fuel transmission, Suliat’s work supported early identification of viable alternative regimens through molecular drug-susceptibility testing. In public health terms, the impact was immediate: fewer days of infectiousness, reduced community exposure, and more rational deployment of limited second-line drugs.

Her influence extended beyond diagnostics. As part of the laboratory’s quality assurance backbone, Suliat carried responsibility for routine calibration and maintenance of molecular platforms, an often overlooked function in resource-constrained settings. Inaccurate molecular results do not merely misinform clinicians; they distort surveillance data and undermine national response strategies. By safeguarding analytical integrity, she helped ensure that policy decisions rested on reliable evidence.
Crucially, Suliat functioned as a bridge between laboratory science and epidemiological action. When resistant cases were confirmed, she ensured immediate communication with surveillance units, accelerating contact tracing and intervention. This model, where laboratories act as operational hubs rather than passive service points, marks a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s tuberculosis architecture. The laboratory became a command center, feeding actionable intelligence directly into the public health bloodstream.

Her hematological expertise further amplified this systems-level impact. In TB-endemic populations, co-morbidities such as HIV, malnutrition, and chronic anemia are common, complicating treatment monitoring. Suliat’s ability to integrate hematological indicators with molecular findings supported more nuanced assessment of disease severity and therapeutic response. In effect, she helped move TB management closer to precision public health, tailoring intervention to both microbial resistance and host response.

The significance of this work extends beyond tuberculosis alone. Suliat’s broader career, spanning blood safety, viral screening, and HIV program monitoring, reflects a consistent professional logic: diagnostics must serve prevention, not merely confirmation. Whether screening blood donors for hepatitis or monitoring immune recovery in HIV patients, her focus has remained on early detection as a tool for population protection.

At the South West Zonal Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, that philosophy found its most urgent expression. Drug-resistant TB thrives where systems are slow and data remains siloed. By accelerating molecular detection and ensuring seamless flow from result to response, Suliat helped close a gap that has long undermined TB control in high-burden settings.

In an era where global health security increasingly hinges on laboratory intelligence, her work offers a replicable blueprint. It demonstrates how advanced molecular tools, when fused with hematological insight and surveillance coordination, can deliver outsized impact even in constrained environments.
For Nigeria’s tuberculosis program, the implications are stark and strategic. Early resistance detection curbs transmission. Correct regimen selection saves lives. Rapid reporting strengthens containment. At the center of this chain stands the laboratory scientist; often unseen, but indispensable.

Adeleke Adeyeni Suliat’s role in driving molecular surveillance against drug-resistant tuberculosis exemplifies this truth. Her work did more than generate results; it rewired response. In the ongoing contest between evolving pathogens and public health systems, that shift may prove one of the most consequential advances of all.