{"id":527,"date":"2020-04-07T08:31:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T08:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/countysplash.co.ke\/?p=527"},"modified":"2020-04-07T08:31:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T08:31:43","slug":"mass-testing-the-key-solution-in-curbing-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horizonnews.co.ke\/?p=527","title":{"rendered":"Mass testing the key solution in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kakamega<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Prof. John Muoma <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Covid 19 pandemic\nis here with us and from Statistic model, new cases are still in 10\u2019s as the\nnumbers are increasing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a crucial\nmoment and the basic rules of keeping our hands clean and limited movement can\nslow down or limit the spread of the virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statistical model by\none Professor in MMUST show that the numbers are not relenting and are\nincreasing in every second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 158 cases recorded in Kenya and four deaths reported, Professor Sibakhale Makhanu, using the Statistical Quadratic model makes predictions which perfectly supports the number of cases reported by the Government of Kenya with a reasonable margin of error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, for planning purposes, the model clearly informs the government of where we are and where we are heading to with this scourge. This is very important data at this time of war as the President put it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Prof. John Muoma <\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Considering that the\ncases are on the higher side of the prediction, the numbers are telling us that\nwe are not properly adhering to the guidelines put in place to contain this pandemic.\nMost important though, the model is very important and it should put the\ngovernment at vantage position and enable the relevant authorities plan ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This raises the question\nhow? Just like the importance of census for budgeting and management of the\ncountry, the number of cases infected with Covid 19 is very important for the\nsame purpose as it enables the government to know the number of cases they will\nbe dealing with.  Hence based on this\nprediction model, the government should be able to know how many cases they\nwill be dealing with in March, April and so on up to December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Prof. John Muoma <\/strong><\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To do this, they need\nenough kits to test all and sundry abinitial so as to know the number of cases\nthey are dealing with in future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a humongous task,\nwhich can only be done by getting enough kits for testing, work with scientist\nto develop homegrown cheap testing solutions as they plan to set up\nlaboratories and buy equipment for high throughput testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking out of the\nbox government needs a radical approach, which may require a national wide\ntesting of everyone and with homegrown testing approaches; this can be done\nwith all scientists involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of the current status of Covid 19 and learning from what has happened in the US, where they are currently losing up to 1300 people in a day, according to Washington Post of February 25, this year, experts had clearly stated that \u201cif testing was not limited to people showing respiratory infection the situation can be better managed\u2019 an idea which must be put to practice in Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Other unfortunate mishap, which happened the\nsame time, was where faulty kits were distributed to 12 laboratories, which\nwere then incapable of testing Covid 19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post\neditor further notes, that by the time South Korea had tested 35,000 people,\nthe US had only tested 426 symptomatic cases and so did not have a clear\nposition of the number of cases in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has though changed\nthough late and the US government is currently heavily investing in mass testing\nand involving molecular biologist in other research areas who are not certified\nlaboratory technician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The non-certified\nmolecular biologist are involved in the initial and middle stage processing the\nsamples with the Certified technician processing the end stage before the\nresults are released to the patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With emphasis on the\nimportance of testing the US scientist at UC Berkley Innovative genomic\ninstitute, university of California have set up robotic laboratory capable of\nprocessing 1000 samples per day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This laboratory fully\nautomated has been a public private initiative in response to Covid 19 by\nscientist and a robotics company in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following suit on the\nimportance of testing, Group 42 (G42), the leading\ntechnology company based in Abu Dhabi, and global genomics leader BGI announced\non 31st<\/sup> march 2020 the launch of a new massive-throughput laboratory\nbuilt to address the need for population-scale detection and diagnosis of\nCOVID-19 in the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The lab is capable of conducting tens of thousands RT-PCR tests per day\nand is the first in the world of this scale to be operational outside of China. The\nlab showcases the joint commitment of G42 and BGI to the leadership and people\nof the UAE, working with the nation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenya is at a crucial\nstage and to manage the Covid 19 better, we need to first and far most open up\ntesting centers country wide for mass testing of all Kenyans. Equip the Centers\nwith consumables and reagents required for testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Covid 19 test equipment\nare basic standard equipment, which can be assembled from any basic molecular\nBiology laboratory and may not need any financial input from the\ngovernment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshal all molecular biologists and involve them with certified laboratory experts to process samples before release of results to the patient.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they do this the government just the UAE government which put up a diagnostic laboratory in 14 days should now invest the Covid 19 funds not only in buying sanitizers, soap and masks but proceed and buy high technology equipment which can enable us process hundreds of thousands of samples immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will be the first major step towards non-reactionary management of Covid 19. We will find our self at an advantageous position considering out current situation, as we will better handle the cases before it gets to a dire state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let the government both national and county take vantage of our current low cases and embark on mass testing we may not need admission of most of the cases as some may be managed at an early stage. The pandemic is here with us let us listen to everyone who is ready to help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. Muoma is a\n<\/em><\/strong>Professor of Plant Biotechnology and\nthe current Director of Science Park, Innovation and Incubation Centre (SPIIC)<\/em><\/strong>\nat Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology\n(Mmust).<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kakamega By Prof. John Muoma The Covid 19 pandemic is here with us and from Statistic model, new cases are still in 10\u2019s as the numbers are increasing. This is a crucial moment and the basic rules of keeping our hands clean and limited movement can slow down or limit the spread of the virus. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kenya-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMass testing the key solution in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya - Horizon News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/horizonnews.co.ke\/?p=527\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mass testing the key solution in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya - Horizon News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kakamega By Prof. John Muoma The Covid 19 pandemic is here with us and from Statistic model, new cases are still in 10\u2019s as the numbers are increasing. 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