Ebola Viral Disease in West Africa: A Threat to Global Health, Economy and Political Stability

Omoleke, Semeeh Akinwale; Mohammed, Ibrahim; Saidu, Yauba

A remarkable technological progress on timely detection of the virus has been registered by a Chinese company, Shenzhen Puruikang Biotech Co., Ltd, which has developed a test kit for Ebola. 109 The kit is revolutionary in that diagnosis can be established within three to four hours from sample collection. The kit is already being used by Chinese military to screen suspected cases from Africa. Sources indicate that the prototype has received approval for mass production by the Chinese national food and drug safety authorities; however, there is no information regarding the prospect of the kit reaching crises countries in Africa. 109, 110 Asides this, there is evidence that the NIAID is actively involved in the development of improved diagnostics for EVD. 111 These include a recombinant antigen, multiplex, microfluidics-based and opto-fluidic-based diagnostics.