Expansion of COVID-19 diagnostic capacity in Madagascar
Expansion of COVID-19 diagnostic capacity in Madagascar*
PIs: Professor Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy (University of Antananarivo, Madagascar) & Professor Gordon Dougan (Dept of Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK)
COVID-19 has been reported in three regions of Madagascar, but all national testing is taking place in Antananarivo, where there is currently only capacity to test 150 samples per day. There is an urgent need to increase capacity there, and to provide additional diagnostic capacity outside of the capital city.
With funding from the Dougan Group and the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund, we will deploy a portable PCR machine and reagents to Madagascar to enable 3000+ additional tests. Given its size and design, the machine can be used in rural settings without a great deal of supportive infrastructure. The plan is to use the machine primarily in the main laboratory at the University of Antananarivo, and to use the machine in rural Imerintsiatosika a few days a week, thereby providing greater geographic coverage.
*This project is supported by a Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund COVID-19 Emergency Award.