According to a report by the Agencia de Información Nacional (AIN) news agency, the Immunoassay Center (CIE) has just completed the development stage of the UMELISA SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test, a reagent from the SUMA network of laboratories capable of detecting the new virus in more people.
The communicator and specialist of the CEI Deputy Department of Investigations, Rebeca González Fernández, said that since the beginning of the pandemic, work has been underway to put to use the SUMA technology during the health crisis.
All Cuban municipalities have a network of SUMA laboratories, which allows reaching a greater number of investigated population with emphasis on asymptomatic people who have the disease.
She also said that field tests will be carried out to cover the protocol outlined by the State Center for the Control of Medicines and Medical Equipment.
Then it would go to the production, distribution and training stage for the network of laboratories. There is a vast experience with SUMA technology, since it has been used on the island since the 1980s.
Having its own technology to detect the new coronavirus guarantees lower production costs and reduces the import of highly prized products due to the current crisis. The Ministry of Public Health and other institutions of the Business Group have arranged everything necessary for its production, said González Fernández.
