THE College of Health Sciences (CHS) at UKZN has secured an advanced instrument called the ILEX Genehecker (ultra-fast pcr) valued at $10 000 to conduct rapid testing for Covid-19.
The Ilex equipment gives a turnaround time of six hours as compared to the usual 24-hour turnaround time using existing equipment.
The instrument was donated by the Gift of the Givers following a request made by UKZN researchers, Professor Anil Chuturgoon, Dr Veron Ramsuran and Dr Lorna Madurai.
The latter is a collaborator in the Covid-19 testing platform.
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‘This generous donation will greatly enhance our existing capacity to provide rapid results on Covid-19 tests for both our staff and students. At the same time, by extending our testing facility to external stakeholders we are able to generate much needed third-stream income for the university,” said Prof Chuturgoon, who is the Acting Dean of Research in CHS and a lead researcher in Covid-19 testing platform at UKZN. The generosity of the Gift of the Givers and Dr Imtiaz Sooliman who is an ardent supporter of his alma mater, UKZN, is notable at a time when UKZN and other universities across the world grapple to contribute to the alleviation of this pandemic,” said Professor Chuturgoon.
Dr Veron Ramsuran, another lead researcher, said he was excited to have access to this advanced technology which will have a huge impact especially with regard to speedy turnaround times particularly for high risk situations.
His sentiments were echoed by Dr Lungi Kwitshana another researcher, who noted that ‘the instrument would also contribute and enhance the excellent research endeavours within the college’.
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