The country has been importing PCR kits for Covid-19 tests
and Government last year released funds to Nust to procure the Oligomaker
reagents manufacturing machine, which should reduce test costs by at least 60
percent.
At the moment, a conclusive PCR test costs around US$60,
but once the machine becomes operational, it will reduce the cost to about
US$20.
Besides making Covid-19 testing kits, the machine can also
make reagents to test for other viruses including HIV.
The financial capacitation of Nust is part of the
Government’s efforts to ensure local higher and tertiary institutions become
active players in solving national challenges through innovation at the
institutions’ innovation hubs.
Nust Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC) director Mr
Zephaniah Dhlamini yesterday said the machine arrived in December.
A Chronicle news crew yesterday observed Mr Dhlamini and
his team assembling the machine at the Nust Innovation Hub.
“The machine was delivered in early December and it
requires certain modifications to be made in the lab for installation. It
requires specialised gas networks, as it uses gases like Abrams and Nitrogen.
So, we need to put that infrastructure up and it must also
operate under a fume-hood. As the machine works, it will release some gases
which must be extracted and released in a safe manner so the fume hood must be
installed. We have engaged a local company to install that in the Innovation
Hub Building. We hope by the end of February, it will be up and running” said
Mr Dhlamini.
He said Denmark-based manufacturers of the Oligomaker
machine will train staff at Nust on its usage and the training will be done
physically or virtually depending on prevailing travel restrictions.
Mr Dhlamini said Zimbabwe would be in a position to detect
emerging diseases through DNA sequencing using the machine.
“There are many laboratories testing Covid-19 using PCR,
but HIV tests currently available in very few labs are using rapid result tests
and with this machine we will be supplying reagents or primers for PCR for
different diseases and research programmes which are out there,” said Mr
Dhlamini.
“There has been no DNA synthesiser in the country and this
will be the first one. We will service universities, research centres such as
central veterinary labs where they use a lot of PCR sequencing to detect diseases
such as foot and mouth. We will liaise with the Ministry of Health and Child
Care and make as many primers and diverse primers as possible for the detection
of these pathogens.”
He said the AGTC imports a lot of DNA kits and the
procurement of the Oligomaker will see the university reducing the country’s
import bill while servicing various economic sub-sectors.
“We have been importing these DNA testing kits and each kit
costs about US$5 000, and with this, we will be able to do our own. We have
organisations such as Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
(Zimpark), which want us to develop kits for identifying elephants, rhinos and
identifying all animals that you may think of, and this needs these primers.
So, we can design all these kits and animal identification
protocols. The sky is the limit and we are excited that we have this capability
now,” he said. Chronicle
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