KNUST develops rapid test for COVID-19
Scientists at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have made a breakthrough by manufacturing a Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) test kit for COVID-19.
The University achieved the feat in collaboration with Incas Diagnostics, a diagnostic company based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
This is expected to boost the fight against the coronavirus that has killed 11, infected 1,550 with 155 recoveries in Ghana.
Currently, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) take up to 48 hours for the results to be available. However, the new system development by KNUST “takes 15-20 minutes to perform”.
A release by the University Relations Officer (URO) of KNUST, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, on Monday, April 27, said it “would enable those tested to know their results in a shorter time to enable decision making in real-time by health authorities”.
The kits use finger-prick blood and detect two different types of antibodies produced by the body to fight off the COVID-19 infection about seven days after infection, and also in those who have been exposed to the virus, but are not showing any symptoms (asymptomatic) or recovered from the infection.
The developers are currently liaising with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to conduct further tests and complete regulatory procedures before releasing the kits.
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Ghana has conducted over 100,622 tests, the second-highest in Africa for a population of 30 million. Tests per One million population is a little over 3, 200 but the country is making efforts to expand testing as the spread extends to several other regions. Currently, 12 out of 16 regions have reported infections.
The breakthrough was achieved with the support from the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso the Centre for Advanced Rapid Diagnostics, Mologic, UK, Mastercard Foundation through the Ghana Tech Lab, the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists and Dext Technologies, Kumasi.