News & Politics
Redeemers University Develop Ebola and Lassa Fever Detecting Kits
It’s always great seeing Nigerians taking steps in the right direction across the worlds of science and technology. It’s also great to see past struggles inspiring inventions which guarantee that a different outcome would be reached should we be represented with problems of the days gone by. These two reasons play into why its particularly […]
It’s always great seeing Nigerians taking steps in the right direction across the worlds of science and technology. It’s also great to see past struggles inspiring inventions which guarantee that a different outcome would be reached should we be represented with problems of the days gone by. These two reasons play into why its particularly pleasing to learn that scientists at Redeemers University’s Osun State branch have developed two rapid diagnosis tests to detect Ebola and Lassa Fever.
According to the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Debo Adeyewa:
“Following the role of the university in the 2014 diagnosis and confirmation of the first index case of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the school had established a network of pathogens hunters in Nigeria and Africa in general by training scientists in the field of genomics.
Redeemer’s University ACEGID researchers discovered two novel Rhabdoviruses (EKV-1 and EKV-2). The centre also developed and patented two rapid diagnostic test kits for diagnosis of Lassa fever virus or Ebola virus in biological fluids. The World Health Organisation and the United States Food and Drug Agency have approved the Ebola virus RDT for use during epidemics.”
The kits which have now been approved by the World Health Organisation will see that within 10 minutes of inspection of bodily fluids, one may know if they have either of the two viruses and speaks to the leaps and bounds that the science community in Nigeria has taken in response to the Ebola epidemic across West African states in 2014.
