BIOSPECTRUM | SEPTEMBER 2018 | http://www.biospectrumindia.com l WORLD NEWS^19
The new kit dubbed M-PIMA HIV-1/2 VL is the first viral load point-of-care tool
designed to provide healthcare professionals with a faster way to manage HIV
by testing viral load at the point-of-care. The tool which underwent a successful
trial in Kenya was launched recently at the ongoing International Aids Society
Conference in Amsterdam. The tool manufactured by
US-based healthcare company Abbott seeks to reach
underserved communities
mainly remote areas and comes
at a time when viral load testing
forms part of HIV management.
The point-of-care tool was tested
in Busia County by Prof Matilu
Mwau, director of the Centre for
Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
Control Research at Kenya Medical
Research Institute (KEMRI). The
kit was successfully tested in Kenya
and in several other countries around
- It will be commercially available in
Kenya next year. The new kit is expected to
cut costs involved in viral load testing currently like transporting samples to
the viral load testing labs and the results back to the clients.
The Government of Zimbabwe is currently testing a national telemedicine
project. 12 health facilities have been mobilized- Mt Mellaray, Nyafaro,
Ngorima, Nyahode, Nyanyadzi, Chakohwa, Avila, Fombe, Nyatate,
Muchadziya, Tombo and Chimanimani. These clinics have been linked to
Nyanga and Mutambara Mission District and Mutare and Parirenyatwa
Reference Hospitals. The aim of the project is to improve the coverage
of rural areas with quality health services. According to the Ministry
of Information and
Communication Technologies
and Cyber Security, the
national telemedicine
project is jointly funded by
the Universal Service Fund
managed by the Zimbabwe
Post and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority
(POTRAZ) – to which telecom
operators contribute 3 per
cent of their annual revenue,
and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). The National Experimental Telemedicine
Project is an ambition of Zimbabwe’s National Health Strategy (2016-2020),
which aims for universal coverage of the population in quality health services
in order to reduce the impact of communicable and non-communicable
diseases on health.
Sudan
partners
with WHO to
launch AMR
action plan
Sudan’s Federal
Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Animal
Resources and
Fisheries, Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry
and World Health
Organisation (WHO), in
collaboration with the
Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
of the United Nations,
World Organisation
for Animal Health
and the United
Nations Environment
Programme, have
launched the Sudanese
national action plan on
antimicrobial resistance
(AMR). National and
international partners
and stakeholders
from the fields of
human health, animal
health, agriculture
and environment
participated in the
launch event held
recently in Khartoum.
The national action
plan will contribute to
the timely and effective
management of AMR
in Sudan and further
ensure achieving the
targets for universal
health coverage in the
country. The national
action plan to contain
AMR focuses on 5
strategic objectives
aligned with the Global
Action Plan.Zimbabwe to explore
national telemedicine project
Kenya to get new HIV testing kit soon