A Nigerian firm, Fyodor Biotechnologies, affiliated to an American-based medical company has announced the introduction of Urine Malaria Test (UMT) kit into Nigerian market for easier and cheaper diagnosis of the killer ailment at home or in hospital.
UMT is an affordable and over-the-counter (OTC) product for a simple dipstick test using immunochromatographic technology to detect malaria protein’s shed in a urine sample.
Speaking in Lagos at a press conference to introduce the product into the Nigerian market, the Chief Executive Officer of Fyodor Biotechnologies Corporation, USA, Dr. Eddy Agbo, disclosed that the UMT, which is the first non-blood malaria test that tells in 25 minutes or less if a fever is due to malaria or not.
He underscored the need to accurately differentiate a malaria fever from a non-malaria fever, especially in communities or primary healthcare settings. Noting that fever is a sign of malaria, Agbo pointed out that there were many other diseases that cause fever.
According to him, “prompt accurate diagnosis is critical in point-of-care settings. Rapid and timely diagnosis is critical for prompt and effective management of fever suspected of being malaria, and mandated by World Health Organisation (WHO) and Federal Ministry of Health.”
The Fyodor boss said UMT was the first malaria test kit validated in Nigeria, being a unique and innovative product for the African continent.
He stressed that the UMT is a truly point-of-care test that empowers healthcare providers to be able to follow national and international guidelines of ‘test before you treat’ for malaria management in all cases of fever.
“It offers a unique and critically-needed tool that will remove the guesswork currently used in the clinical management of malaria, 10 enabling immediate targeted treatment.”
Describing how to use the kit to diagnose malaria, Agbo noted that it is a simple and easy process which can be done by anyone and at any given time.
“Add patient’s urine into a Sample Cup provided in the kit; Dip and leave UMT strip in the sample for up to 25 minutes; Read result – one line indicates no malaria while two lines indicate presence of malaria in the body”, he explained.
He added that UMT was a product done in collaboration with so many renowned institutions both within and outside the country over seven years, and rigourously tested in a full-scale pivotal clinical trial.
Agbo said pre-clinical and clinical validation studies were conducted in Nigeria in collaboration with the College of Medicine, University of Lagos; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; John Hopkins University, USA; Duke University, USA; Federal Ministry of Health/Malaria Elimination Programme; Lagos State Government/Ministry of Health and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). – Authority.
