The first 644 units of the Umelisa SARS-COV-2 antigen diagnostic, being incorporated into treatment and virus detection protocols in our country, will be delivered soon to the Medication Sales and Distribution Enterprise (Emcomed), after exhaustive effectiveness tests were conducted.
A report on the Cubavisión Internacional television network indicated that the new biotechnological product - developed by the Immunoassay Center and validated at the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine - is ready to contribute to the diagnosis of suspected infections.
According to Irina Valdivia Alvarez, deputy director of the Diagnostic Development and Production area, this test, registered by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices, identifies, in only four hours, the presence of the virus in asymptomatic patients suspected of a SARS-COV-2 infection.
She added that it is a 100% Cuban made test, both the kit and the raw materials used for its development and production.
As soon as the first 644 units were in the cold chamber, the last stage to which they are subjected before delivery, work was already underway on the next two batches scheduled this month.
By July 8, Valdivia reported, 826 kits were delivered, and by July 15, more than 1,600, providing our health system with more than 705,000 diagnostic tests.
