A group of scientists from the United States, Sierra leone and Nigeria have developed test kits for both the Lassa virus and Ebola Virus which provide accurate results very fast and is unbelievably cheap.
The test kits which costs $1 per unit can be done in any environment and uses saliva samples instead of blood and is based on a diagnostic CRISPR technology, SHERLOCK that indicate if certain pathogens are present in any sample.
The result is then read via a mobile app – HandLens which enables the user view the result in a graphical format.
The test kits is a welcome innovation as Nigeria recorded the highest cases of lassa fever this year alone, a 35% increase compared to the previous year, while DR Congo remains underfunded in its fight against the Ebola outbreak.