Vela Diagnostics has announced its appointment by the National Public Health Laboratory of Kenya (NPHL) as their supplier for SARS-CoV-2 genotyping tests, with funding from The Global Fund.
The NPHL operates under Kenya’s Ministry of Health and plays an important role in the nation’s healthcare by providing reference testing for key diseases and in response to disease outbreaks. It is currently embarking on a program to trace and curb spread of COVID-19 in Kenya, an effort funded by The Global Fund.
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The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources for prevention, treatment and care programs of diseases such as AIDS, TB and malaria.
Vela Diagnostics has an extensive infectious diseases portfolio, with solutions to support COVID-19 testing. These include the ViroKey SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Test v2.0, a test for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and the ViroKey SARS-CoV-2 ID RT-PCR Test, which quickly identifies specific strains and potential variants of concern.
Especially relevant to the Kenyan NPHL’s surveillance efforts is the ViroKey SQ FLEX SARS-CoV-2 Genotyping Assay, a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based test for detecting genomic mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome from nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs. The accompanying reporter software automatically calls out mutations and classifies them by lineage, providing critical insights to the molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Dr Leonard Kingwara, Head of the Genomics and Molecular Surveillance Laboratory Unit in Kenya, attests to the efficiency of Vela Diagnostics’ SARS-CoV-2 genotyping assay in results generation, as well as its utility for expanding the scope of pathogen public health surveillance. “Vela Diagnostics’ genotyping assay ensures timely results through automation and reduction of hands-on procedures. This has facilitated timely result releases for various research projects,” says Dr Kingwara.
“We are very excited to be appointed as the primary supplier for genotyping kits for the Kenyan NPHL,” says Dr Andreas Goertz, Managing Director of Vela Diagnostics EMEA. “This grants us an invaluable opportunity to expand our presence in Africa, including South Africa where our HIV genotyping assay is currently undergoing registration for sales in the country.”