NABDA Ebola Testing Kit

In a concerted effort to join in the war waged by the Federal Government of Nigeria against the dreaded Ebola virus, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology through her National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), in collaboration with Bioneer Corporation of South Korea, recently, presented to stakeholders and Nigerian scientists a new Ebola Molecular Diagnostic kit.

The kit showcased at the workshop on Molecular Diagnosis and Treatment of Hemorrhagic and zoonotic Viral Diseases, recently organised by NABDA in Abuja, is a faster and more effective facility for testing blood samples of patients, with optimum safety standards.

In his opening remarks, the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology,        Dr Abdu Bulama reiterated the high premium placed on eradication of the deadly ebola disease from Nigeria, and commended NABDA’s proactive step in providing formidable scientific solution in the fight against the Ebola scourge.

Furthermore, the Director-General NABDA, Prof(Mrs) Lucy Jumeyi  Ogbadu explained that as soon as the genome of the Ebola Virus was sequenced and published on the internet in March 2014, the Agency commenced work on possible biotechnology and scientific interventions in the prevention and control of the spread of the disease in Nigeria.

She added that if not for the unfortunate sudden entrance of the infected Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, into the country; the initiative taken by NABDA to constitute a multidisciplinary and multi – agency science based solutions would have been in place before the disease appeared in Nigeria.

Similarly, Prof Abdusalami Nasidi, DG National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), narrated the journey so far in curbing the spread of the disease in Nigeria, alluding that with fervency and commitment shown so far by the federal government of Nigeria, the country would likely eradicate the disease in a few weeks.   (Written by Ifeoma Comfort Ndefo)