Indian firm develops rapid Ebola test for DRC outbreak

A key issue in the raging Ebola outbreak – a deadly disease with a frighteningly high fatality rate – in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been a shortage of testing kits.

Now, an Indian medical diagnostics company, whose testing technology proved vital during India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, is pitching in to fill the gap and support efforts to curb the deadly virus.

Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics has developed a real-time PCR test capable of detecting the virus and is working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and local authorities to urgently validate the test on clinical specimens.

Designed for decentralised settings, the test runs on Molbio's near-patient portable Truenat platform and delivers results in approximately one hour, enabling faster clinical



decision-making and timely public health intervention, the company told India Today.

The ongoing outbreak, driven by the comparatively less-understood Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was confirmed last month and has claimed at least 62 lives. So far, 363 cases have been confirmed in the DRC in Central Africa.

In neighbouring Uganda, one death due to the highly contagious disease has been confirmed so far, while 15 other people have tested positive. The true toll of the epidemic, however, is believed to be far higher.

In a press briefing on June 4, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described testing as the biggest challenge.

"One of our key priorities is to scale up laboratory and diagnostic capacity, to reduce delays in case confirmation and support faster response decisions," the WHO chief exhorted.