Ugandan medical researcher Prof Vinand Nantulya has developed an antibody detection test where COVID-19 will be detected in an individual within 5 minutes.
According to Prof Nantulya, he submitted the detection test to the ministry of health and he’s only waiting for validation. He revealed that the test will close the gap of truck drivers who have been tested and let go since the results take 24 hours to return.
“Once validated, the test will be very convenient for deploying at the border and no positive case will be allowed to proceed as it has been,” Prof Natulya said.
Nantulya is not new to medical innovations; he developed a vaccine called Kuku Star that prevents New Castle Disease in chicken. He manufactures the vaccine in his company, Brentec Vaccine Limited, named after his mother, Brenda Kirangi. His other company, Astel Diagnostics Limited, manufactures rapid diagnostic tests against a number of diseases. He serves as a senior advisor on Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals to President Museveni.
Earlier this week, government launched the use of GeneXpert machines at border points to enable truck drivers to be tested and receive their Covid-19 results in 45 minutes. However, the Health Ministry said that they attained a few challenges that made it impossible for the machines to immediately get operational.