As the country is still in the valley of the decision whether coronavirus mass testing could be done, Makerere University Department of Pathology have developed a testing kit for the coronavirus which can ease the process.
The revelation was made by the Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe through his official twitter handle, thanking the head of the team Dr Misaki Wayengera.
“I thank Dr Misaki Wayengera and his team at the Makerere University Department of Pathology for the initiative to develop a rapid testing kit for Coronavirus. This is commendable given the devastation caused by COVID19. Makerere is proud to serve humanity,” reads the post.
Last month during an interview with one of the local newspaper during the process of making the said kit, Dr Misaki said the test will be using an agglutination platform -where you get a swab from the nose or mouth, put it in the tube, shake and get results.
“We took up the mandate to develop the kit because people were bothering us. We already identified some proteins that will work and we are testing them to see how they work,” he said during the process of making it.
According to Dr Misaki, each testing kit will cost around Shs 4000, Prof Pontiano Kaleebu, the Director of Uganda Virus Institute, the institution manning COVID-19 testing said that kits have come in the time when the government is also working to decentralise testing in upcountry health facilities and with kits being made within the country it will be easier.
Dr Misaki says that to attain this success they have been working with a French partner whose expertise was much needed.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases in East Africa currently Kenya has 142 cases, only four have recovered and 4 died, Uganda has 52 cases no death and no one has recovered, Tanzania has 22, 3 recovered, 1 death, Rwanda has 104 cases, 4 have recovered, no death and South Sudan with 1 case.
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