{"id":218758,"date":"2020-05-08T15:42:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=218758"},"modified":"2020-05-08T15:42:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:42:30","slug":"cuban-scientists-adapt-diagnostic-test-to-detect-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuban-scientists-adapt-diagnostic-test-to-detect-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban scientists adapt diagnostic test to detect COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuban scientists adapted \u201cin record time\u201d a diagnostic system already existing in the country so that it can identify cases of COVID-19<\/a> based on antibodies, the state-run BioCubafarma group producer of medicaments reported this Thursday.<\/p>\n

Designed by researchers from Havana\u2019s Immunoassay Center (CIE), the diagnostic test uses the ELISA technique, which identifies small particles and germs that cause disease, and is based on SUMA technology (Ultra Micro Analytical System), produced by the CIE during the 1980s.<\/p>\n

SUMA is an advanced Cuban diagnostic technique that uses small amounts of samples and saves reagents. In the country it is applied above all in the Neonatal Screening, Blood Certification and Epidemiological Surveillance programs.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BioCubaFarma\/posts\/2277742392521522<\/p>\n

Thanks to this technology, Cuba became the second country in the Americas to have a complete diagnosis and care program for congenital hypothyroidism.<\/p>\n

It is currently used in several countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and China.<\/p>\n

However, this test must still complete the established protocol for its production and large-scale application in the detection of the coronavirus. This was explained by Rebeca Gonz\u00e1lez, institutional communicator of the CIE, who told<\/a> the Agencia Cubana de Noticias<\/em> news agency that after completing the development stage, field tests will be carried out and then a stage of production, distribution and training will begin for the network of laboratories.<\/p>\n

Producing its own test for COVID-19 would save time and money for Cuba, currently under the restrictions of the U.S. embargo, which makes it difficult to acquire goods abroad, including medicines and medical equipment with more than 10% American components.<\/p>\n

Most of the country\u2019s SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests so far come from donations from allied countries such as China and from multilateral institutions such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).<\/p>\n

Organizaci\u00f3n Panamericana de la Salud don\u00f3 100.000 pruebas PCR a Cuba para detectar el coronavirus<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n