WHO Africa: New rapid tests a 'game changer' against COVID
Geneva:Health officials in Africa say the rollout of rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 could be a game changer for their fight against the coronavirus but also warned Thursday that increased testing could drive up confirmed cases on a continent that has seen them decline or plateauing as case numbers soar in the West.
Some experts worry that Africa so far has lacked the ability to test widely enough, especially in hard-to-reach rural areas, and that its case counts therefore don't reflect reality and impede tracking the virus.
African countries are gearing up to introduce antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests on a large scale, and this will be a game changer, we think, in the fight against COVID-19, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, said.
These high-quality rapid tests will help meet the huge unmet need for testing in Africa. Speaking from Brazzaville, Congo, at an online news conference, Moeti noted that WHO Africa region comprising sub-Saharan Africa plus Algeria - has seen a downward trend from a daily average of more than 15,000 cases in July to less than 4,000 in the past month - prompting some governments to pull back from their toughest containment measures.
As countries ease restrictions on movement, some increase in cases is expected, but preventing an exponential rise is absolutely critical, she said.
From early on in the pandemic, officials at WHO headquarters in Geneva, including the U.N. health agency's Ethiopian director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, have expressed concerns that COVID-19 could have a big impact on weaker health systems like those in Africa.
However, developed countries with world-class health systems so far have been among the ones hardest hit by virus outbreaks. WHO's 54-nation European region tallied 927,000 cases in its latest weekly count, a new record high.
Dr Susan Ndidde Nabadda, head of the Ugandan National Health Laboratory Services and Central Public Health Laboratory, suggested that it could take some time to ensure proper authorizations and a high-quality process before rapid diagnostic tests on a broader scale because there is no longer really a lot of emergency in Africa.
Nabadda cited reports indicating that the identification of COVID-19 cases increased in Guinea once the west African country started rolling out the RDTs, noting that we might see more numbers coming on board as the tests are deployed more widely.
She said the relative lack of testing in Africa could be one of the reasons why African case counts were lower than in developed countries.
WHO announced last month that it and leading partners have agreed on a plan to roll out 120 million rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 to help lower- and middle-income countries make up ground in a testing gap with richer countries.
The antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests for which WHO issued an emergency use listing are intended to provide better testing access to areas where it is harder to distribute the PCR tests often in many wealthier nations.
The rapid tests look for antigens, or proteins found on the surface of the virus. They are generally considered less accurate though much faster than PCRs, which are higher-grade genetic tests. PCR tests require processing with specialty lab equipment and chemicals. Typically, delivering results to patients takes several days.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Surat LS candidate Nilesh Kumbhani whose nomination form was rejected suspended from Congress
Ahmedabad, Apr 25: The Gujarat Congress on Friday suspended from the party for six years its Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies leading to the BJP's Mukesh Dalal getting elected unopposed.
A statement from the Congress said the party's disciplinary committee decided to suspend Kumbhani after thorough discussion, adding it had come to the conclusion that the nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or "in connivance with the BJP".
"To be fair to you we have given time to you to explain your case but instead of coming before the party disciplinary committee you have gone incommunicado. After your form was rejected by the authorities, BJP went ahead and got form of other eight candidates withdrawn. This has deprived people of Surat their voting rights," the Congress disciplinary committee headed by Balu Patel said.
"People of Surat and party workers have become very angry due to your action and are expressing their anger in different ways. The Congress party has decided to suspend you for six years from the party," the press note said.
Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected on April 21 after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on the document was not theirs.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated on the same grounds.
In his order, Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said the three nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie discrepancy was found in the signatures of the proposers and they did not appear to be genuine.
Kumbhani, a former corporator from Surat, had unsuccessfully fought the 2022 Assembly polls from Kamrej there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha constituency on April 22 after all other nominees, including one from BSP, withdrew from the fray one by one on the last day of withdrawing papers.
