•The kits which have put Senegal on a global map will only take under 10 minutes to do a test.
•They will sell at a cost price of Sh109 - just one dollar.
Image: MERCY MUMO
Kenya has no plans to deploy the coronavirus rapid testing kits developed by Senegal as they are based on antibodies.
The kits which have put Senegal on a global map will not only take under 10 minutes to do a test but also sell at a cost price of Sh109 (US$1).
Researchers have already commenced validation of the diagnostic testing that will allow people to conduct the tests at home.
But speaking on Saturday, Health DG Patrick Amoth said the kits from Senegal are based on antibodies; proteins that our bodies produce in response to an antigen or a foreign body.
He spokes as Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi announced 24 new positive cases from 1,195 samples tested in a day.
The ministry has already began targeted mass testing in hotspot areas such as Mombasa and Kawangware in Nairobi.
According to the DG, the first antibody that the body produces when it gets exposed to a virus is called IGM. The second antibody which is produced slightly after two weeks is IGG.
“The one of Senegal is based on IGM but the pitfalls of these rapid test kits are that you tend to produce the antibodies after about two weeks, therefore you lose a significant opportunity for 14 days where you could be able to trace isolate and quarantine people and therefore stop further transmission of the infection,” Amoth said.
He also noted there might be high chances of false positives since the rapid test kits are not selective.
“There are very many types of coronavirus. So even when you have coronavirus that causes a mild cold the rapid kit will interpret it as Covid-19. Therefore you will be diagnosed as coronavirus disease positive yet you have the simple corona that causes a cold,” he said.
In addition, the DG observed that if you are immuno-suppressed like you have HIV or you are malnourished or you have a serious infection like TB, your immune response is subdued and therefore it tends to produce fewer antibodies or no antibodies at all.
In that case, if someone is put through the test it will come out negative yet they could be positive.
“Even if you have the antibodies evidence has not shown that those antibodies will protect you from the infection.”
He, however, noted that the kits are good diagnostic equipment that can be used in research purposes like in KEMRI, as well be used to carry out seroprevalence surveys.
These are survey carried out when to find out the spread or the incidence of a disease in a large community.