Ghana Makes Breakthrough in Developing 15-Minute Covid-19 Test Kit

Ghana has joined Senegal and China as the few countries that have actively developed a Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) that can detect within 15 minutes the status of the public being tested for the dreaded Covid-19 coronavirus. The current test which deploys the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test takes up to 48 hours to confirm whether test subjects are positive or negative. According to a statement issued by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology (KNUST) where the RDT test was developed, “ A key use of this RDT would be for mass testing of the population to identify all those who have been exposed to the virus and thus provide key data…and also, enhance contact tracing efforts.” The breakthrough test was developed by scientists at KNUST, Incas Diagnostics and Mologic UK which was part of the research firms that partnered Senegal to develop their world-acclaimed rapid test kits. According to the KNUST statement on the RDT, the technology uses a finger-prick blood sampling system – just like a blood glucose test or home pregnancy test – to detect two different types of antibodies produced by the body when it is fighting off Covid-19 infection at least seven days after infection – whether the person is showing symptoms or not. “The device also requires little technical training for those performing the test,” Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, University Relations Officer at KNUST, explains in the press statement. “By indicating how much of the population is already likely immune because of mild infections, antibody data can offer a key to how fast the virus will continue to spread,” Dr Bekoe explained the importance of the breakthrough. In the future, experts say the technology could also help health officers to identify recovered patients who could then donate their SARS-CoV-2 antibody-rich serum for the treatment of critically ill patients as is being done in some countries. “Another key application would be to identify frontline health workers who have been infected and developed likely immunity to the virus. They would then be able to return to work early and treat patients safely,” Dr Bekoe detailed even more applications of the technology