Breathalyser test for Covid-19 could be a reality
By Nathan Craig
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Durban - Imagine a breathalyser or pregnancy test but instead of their traditional functions, they tested for Covid-19.
These are the biotechnological strides being made by a local team utilising nanobodies for rapid antibody testing to detect and in the future potentially treat Covid-19.
Nucleic acid testing, the primary Covid-19 method, requires a laboratory, trained personnel and closed proprietary systems which can hamper access, but these new advances hope to avoid these hurdles.
Professor Tahir Pillay, head of pathology and chemical pathology at the University of Pretoria, the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Professor Anil Chuturgoon, Bettina Chale-Matsau a pathologist from the National Health Laboratory Service and businessman Reggie Govender are the team behind MikroMab Diagnostics – the company with the latest innovation.