According
to Ruchika Kohli, a clinical pathologist based in Nairobi, many doctors
and laboratories are seemingly unaware that most rapid tests used in
Kenya to screen for Hepatitis B are not good enough to make an accurate diagnosis.
The
medical laboratory expert, who works at Pathologists Lancet Kenya, says
a lot of rapid test kits from manufacturers in the market have not been
approved for Hepatitis, but HIV.
Dr Kohli says only a few selected rapid tests have shown adequate accuracy in terms of sensitivity and specificity to detect Hepatitis
B virus infection, and only one of those is certified by the European
Union while none has as yet been approved by the regulators in America.
“This means the majority of rapid kits in use in Kenya and other
countries have not been approved by regulatory authorities to test for Hepatitis B,” she said.
“Though rapid tests for Hepatitis
B may be cheaper and technically less demanding and therefore more
attractive to use, the fact that these tests have poor accuracy and
remain unapproved by regulatory authorities means their use could be
misleading and even deadly.”
Read more... Labels: awareness, fake kits, Kenya, rapid testing kits