The country has blazed a trail in Africa with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) successfully validating the first phase of the viral Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) extraction which should enable local production of cheap testing kits for coronavirus.

The validation took place on Thursday in the laboratory of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) in Abuja.

The Director-General of NABDA, Prof. Alex Akpa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the exercise that the success of the validation was important not only to Nigeria but Africa as a whole.

“The success of this validation shall enable us to massively produce test kits so that more people would be tested for COVID-19, not only in Nigeria but in Africa.

“The immediate aim is to produce reagents for real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and remember, recently the lack of reagents stalled work in Kano and molecular diagnosis could no longer take place,’’ Akpa said.

He also recalled that the absence of the same reagent equally stalled COVID-19 diagnosis in Lagos for many days.

“This project is, therefore, designed to enable not only Nigeria but the whole of Africa to put the issue of shortage of reagents behind,’’ the director-general said.

He disclosed that that the project was a Pan-African project whose partners include Ethiopia, NCDC and the University of Sheffield, U.K., among others with funding to come from African Development Bank.

Dr Ndodo Nnaemeka, Chief Molecular Bioengineer, National Reference Laboratory of NCDC, said he was mandated by the NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, to “launch this wonderful project.’’

According to Nnaemeka, the project is designed to solve the problem of RNA extraction kit which had become a global issue.

He said there were serious concerns for the need to have more extraction kits in-country, and that there was growing demand worldwide for extraction kits.

“The western world prioritises their own interest first by making sure that they meet their local needs before exporting to other countries, so there was really need for it,’’ he said,

The NCDC chief molecular bioengineer said the first phase of the evaluation results he carried out with the NABDA scientific team was “awesome and successful.’’

“The kits compete favourably well with other international kits we are using, in fact, it scored highly in purity and in quantity of extraction and we are thinking of scaling production,’’ Nnaemeka said.

He clarified that to be able to conduct test, the viral information which comes as the RNA has to first be extracted and without this extraction, no test can be conducted.

“What will tell you that the virus is there is contained in the RNA, so RNA is required for you to be able to detect COVID-19,’’ he said.

He added that as scientists, they would soon carry out the second phase of the evaluation which would involve real sample of COVID-19.

Similarly, Dr Rose Gidado, a scientist at NABDA and Country Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), said the exercise was historic.

She said the validated RNAswift Test Kit for COVID-19 was developed by Dr Alison Nwokeoji, a Nigerian scientist at the University of Sheffield, U.K.

She corroborated that the African Development Bank was taking over the manufacture of the test kits so as to expand Nigeria’s testing capacity with emphasis on farmers’ health.

Gidado also disclosed that the new test kit could test more than 20,000 people per day.

“If we set up more testing centres, we can easily do 50,000 with automation,’’ the scientist said.

She added that the project was a partnership involving NABDA, NCDC, Ethiopia, NVRI Vom, NIMR and the Ministries of Science and Technology, Health and Agriculture.

NAN reports that the evaluation and validation of the RNAswift Test Kit for COVID-19 was carried out in the immunology laboratory of the NABDA.

It was done in the presence of a donor, Mr Bolaji Akinboro of Cellulant Nig. Ltd, and Mr Richard Mbaram, the Technical Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, among others. (NAN)

Source: https://www.sunnewsonline.com/covid-19-nigeria-records-breakthrough-as-ncdc-validates-viral-rna-extraction/

hi

hello at the top ... this is the breakthrough we Nigerians are expecting not for the money donated to be swallowed by snakes and monkeys with nothing to show for it. i drop my pen at this end.

Wow. I know we can do it if we put our minds to it.

Okay...nice one

That's a huge milestone

Now let's restart the testing process...

Oyaaa after saying, pls let action starts. Cos everything seems to be sounding desame to me dis days. All i wonna hear is coro don comot

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That is good news coming from NABDA.

I know we will overcome the virus soon, and as many as believe this shall not become victims of this pandemic.

Victory is certain

Tell me something wea I no fit do.

They should come and test my neighbor.
she has been coughing whenever one particular man comes to see her.
I dunno if it's to chase d man away because the man ends up not coming close to her, but will leave whatever he bought close to her gate n drive away.
We have been watching her closely through my wife's bedroom.
We feel she is exploiting this man.
Dr nnaemeka needs to still test her and know if it's corona cough or fake cough.

N

.

Just using COVID-19 to cash out

please who knows how to mention a moderator to a thread.
please help your brother

https://www.nairaland.com/5870148/plea-financial-assistance-get-digital

good

Good move

Hmm

Nigeria my continent.

Don't know what to say. Really tired of this COVID19 thing.

gather here if the headline made you thought it was a cure.


nonsense, time wey them for use dey mix herbal cure them dey dia dey mumu dey find useless text kit....i even think say we don see cure by that headline

Great! Let's use African way to treat this virus, we don't have to follow the west every time.

Scammers.

Just wait and see how this same NCDC and NABDA with no track record in vaccine development and production will come out later and declare they have developed a vaccine.

That same vaccine is from Bill Gates and no other just as this rubbish development is.

The idea is now to make you have confidence in a local vaccine given that anything Bill Gates is now satanic.

Ede X Ede, Rice, Customer, I See Ede, Beans, Oloko Oloko Case

This is good.

Some weeks ago, the Health Minister said it cost ₦10,000 to carryout a test for COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Yesterday 21/5/2020 the commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi said test cost the Lagos State government between ₦40,000 to ₦50,000 meaning for the 16,000 test they claimed has been carried out cost them ₦800,000,000. This leaves many wondering how much the state would claim it cost to treat and feed those at the isolation centres.

If Care's not taken, COVID-19 may even cost close to 10% of annual budget in Lagos, if almost ₦1 billion has been expended on testing alone this far.

It is well with Nigeria and Lagos State under those in charge

habsydiamond:
hello at the top ... this is the breakthrough we Nigerians are expecting not for the money donated to be swallowed by snakes and monkeys with nothing to show for it. i drop my pen at this end.

What breakthrough?

Something that's been done ages ago? How else do you think the existing PCR test kits in use were created?

Ok oo, make them hurry up