Coronavirus test kits being developed in Senegal

A laboratory in Senegal’s capital Dakar is developing a new form of rapid test kit for the coronavirus that scientists say will be able to diagnose the disease within ten minutes. 

The tests are being developed at the custom-built Dia Tropix facility and are expected to be available from June. 

The project is a collaboration between Senegal’s famous Institut Pasteur de Dakar and a British biotech firm called Mologic. 

International development website DevEx said that two million kits are expected to be produced this year and will be distributed directly across Africa. 

On Wednesday the World Health Organisation declared the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic and advised governments to act accordingly. 

The virus has spread to 114 countries across the world, after it was first reported in China three months ago.

It has infected 118,000 people and killed more than 4,200.

12 African countries have reported confirmed cases so far, with 112 cases and two deaths on the continent. 

Photo: CDC