Researchers at the Vienna BioCenter and in Ghana team up to advance diagnostics in Africa

Last April, Vienna BioCenter scientists embarked on a field trip to Ghana to help local researchers validate the innovative molecule detection protocol LAMP as a diagnostics tool for malaria and schistosomiasis. In the Viennese team’s luggage: the successful application of this cheap assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections. Collaborators at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana in Accra has worked on LAMP diagnostics for years, and adapted LAMP for high-priority infectious diseases. The method validation proved successful: LAMP performed as well as other established tests, even in a low-resource setting. This work was coordinated by the organization TreND in Africa and made possible through the support of the Volkswagen (VW) Foundation. It sets the tone for future scientific collaborations between Africa and Europe, as exemplified by the Vienna BioCenter Summer School’s ‘Talents for Future’ scheme.

Read the full story on the Vienna BioCenter website.