COVID-19: Lack of test kits portends danger

As Nigeria battles COVID-19, we call for immediate deployment of Rapid Test Kits across the country for easy detection of new contacts. The current molecular diagnostic approach being used in the country, although very appropriate because it measures the amount of virus in the blood, cannot proactively tackle the COVID-19 challenges. The Rapid Test Kits […]

As Nigeria battles COVID-19, we call for immediate deployment of Rapid Test Kits across the country for easy detection of new contacts.

The current molecular diagnostic approach being used in the country, although very appropriate because it measures the amount of virus in the blood, cannot proactively tackle the COVID-19 challenges.

The Rapid Test Kits differentiate between recent infections and exposure to the virus by measuring IgM and IgG antibodies. This is because any recent infection will make the body generate specific IgM antibodies subgroup which can easily be tracked.

The IgM and IgM/IgG positive suggest recent infections, while IgG positive suggests previous infection or latent infection.

The  IgM and IgM/IgG positive samples can then be confirmed by Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT-PCR) or viral gene sequencing.

The fear being expressed by some Nigerians is that the only four testing centres in the country: Lagos, Edo, Osun, and Abuja, are not enough to cater for over 200 million Nigerians.

Again, the current technique being used in Nigeria for detecting COVID-19 is difficult to scale up, and this explains why only limited samples have been tested so far.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) promised at the weekend that testing centres in Oyo and Ebonyi states would be operational soon.

This same fear informed the recent decision of the United States Government to commence evacuation of its citizens from Nigeria.

What possibly prompted the decision of the US is because the exact number of Nigerians exposed to the dreaded virus cannot be determined as possible victims mingle freely with people.

With COVID-19 IgM/IgG Rapid Test Kits, the tests will become easy and can quickly be deployed nationwide for rapid screening of COVID-19.

Dr. Simon Agwale is a virologist/vaccinologist and CEO of Innovative Biotech, Keffi, Nasarawa State