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Millions of New Rapid COVID Antigen Test Kits Headed to Africa

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - New rapid coronavirus testing, soon to be available
   throughout Africa, could be a "game changer" for the continent, the
   World Health Organization said Thursday.
   The new, cheaper, less fragile tests could help health systems identify
   and treat cases more quickly, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World
   Health Organization's Regional Director for Africa. 20 million antigen
   tests are being distributed to low and middle income countries, she
   said, with many headed to the continent.
   "This would be a game-changer, we think, in the fight against
   COVID-19," she told journalists. "These high-quality rapid tests will
   help meet the huge unmet need for testing in Africa. While there are
   testing challenges in many parts of the world, we've seen that African
   countries have faced significant gaps throughout the pandemic. For
   example, Senegal has significantly boosted its testing capacity, but it
   still is testing 14 times less than the Netherlands. Nigeria is testing
   11 times less than Brazil."
   Unlike the currently used polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests,
   these tests don't require labs for processing. They're also cheaper and
   don't rely on expensive, fragile reagents, like the PCR tests do.
   The new tests seek specific proteins -- called antigens -- on the
   surface of the virus, and can yield results in less than 30 minutes
   without needing to be sent to a high-tech lab. As a result, the new
   tests can also be deployed to rural clinics, allowing health systems to
   find cases outside of major population centers.
   More tests, more cases?
   But Dr. Susan Ndidde Nabadda, head of the Ugandan National Health
   Laboratory Services and Central Public Health Laboratory, noted that
   the new tests aren't a complete replacement. The rapid tests are
   designed to detect fairly high levels of antigens -- meaning people who
   are in the early stages of infection may falsely test negative.

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