Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 25 June 2018

Non-invasive malaria test wins Africa engineering prize

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA cent, is still a work in pro-
Associated Press cess. Gitta and his group
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) aim to refine the device un-
— Languishing with fever til it achieves an accuracy
and frustrated by delays rate exceeding 90 percent.
in diagnosing his illness, Bri- Matibabu has yet to be
an Gitta came up with a formally subjected to all
bright idea: a malaria test the necessary clinical trials
that would not need blood under Ugandan safety and
samples or specialized lab- ethics regulations.
oratory technicians. “It excites me as a clini-
That inspiration has won the cian,” said Medard Bi-
25-year-old Ugandan com- tekyerezo, a Ugandan
puter scientist a prestigious physician who chairs the
engineering prize for a non- National Drug Authority. “I
invasive malaria test kit that think the National Drug Au-
he hopes will be widely thority will approve it.”
used across Africa. The government should in-
For developing the reus- vest in the project so that its
able test kit known as Mati- developers don’t struggle
babu, Gitta this month was financially, he added. The
awarded the Africa Prize unit cost of the latest proto-
for Engineering Innovation. In this photo taken Monday, June 18, 2018, Ugandan Brian Gitta, left, and team members Moris type is about $100.
The award by the Royal Atwine, center, and Shafik Sekito, right, show the non-invasive malaria test that Gitta invented in Despite the optimism, Git-
Academy of Engineering in Kampala, Uganda. ta has found a hurdle he
Britain comes with £25,000 Associated Press didn’t anticipate: Some
($32,940). sistance reported to both for “treatment.” ate. The test will be suitable patients are skeptical of un-
Malaria is the biggest kill- drugs and insecticides. “It’s a perfect example of for use in Africa’s rural ar- familiar technology.
er in Africa, and the sub- The new malaria test kit how engineering can un- eas, where most cases of “The doctors will tell you
Saharan region accounts works by shining a red lock development - in this malaria occur, because it that some people will not
for about 80 percent of beam of light onto a finger case by improving health will not depend on sending leave the hospital until
the world’s malaria cases to detect changes in the care,” Rebecca Enon- blood samples to a distant their children have been
and deaths. Cases rose to shape, color and concen- chong, Africa Prize for Engi- laboratory. pricked, and until they
216 million in 2016, up from tration of red blood cells, neering Innovation judge, Others are also working to have been given anti-ma-
211 million cases in 2015, all of which are affected said in a statement. “Ma- fill the need for quicker, laria drugs and painkillers,
according to the latest by malaria. The results are tibabu is simply a game easier malaria tests. There even if the kid is not sick,”
World Malaria Report, re- sent within a minute to a changer.” are over 200 rapid diagnos- he said.
leased late last year. Ma- computer or mobile phone Gitta and five colleagues, tic test products for malaria “We think we are devel-
laria deaths fell by 1,000, to linked to the device. all trained in computer sci- on the market, according oping for hospitals first, so
445,000. A Portugal-based firm has ence or engineering, de- to the WHO. that people can first get at-
The mosquito-borne dis- been contracted to pro- veloped an affordable, The fifth-generation proto- tached to the brand, and
ease is a challenge to pre- duce the components for bloodless test that does not type of Matibabu, with an gain the trust of patients
vent, with increasing re- Matibabu, the Swahili word need a specialist to oper- accuracy rate of 80 per- over time.”q

Report finds industrial chemicals

more toxic than thought

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER 10 times lower than once food wrappers, and stain-
Associated Press realized, according to a resistant fabric and carpet,
WASHINGTON (AP) — A government report re- but are no longer used in
family of industrial chemi- leased Wednesday. U.S. manufacturing.
cals turning up in public The chemicals are called Water sampling has found
water supplies around the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluo- contamination in water
country is even more toxic roalkyl. around military bases, fac-
In this Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, a couple kayak on the Rogue than previously thought, \They were used in such tories and other sites.
River adjacent to where Wolverine World Wide’s tannery once
stood, in Rockford, Mich. threatening human health goods as fire-suppressing A draft of the report, by
Associated Press at concentrations seven to foam, nonstick pans, fast- the Department of Health
and Human Services’ toxi-
cology office, had set off
alarms within the Trump
administration earlier this
year.
A January email from a
White House official, re-
leased under the Freedom
of Information Act, re-
ferred to the findings as a
“potential public relations
nightmare.”q