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Success Stories
Past Success Stories
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Malaria and dengue fever are
mosquito-borne diseases that affect
millions of people in the tropics,
with malaria killing about three
million people worldwide every
year. Rapid, accurate diagnosis is
paramount for timely treatment or
emergency response/containment
procedures. The standard test for
the malarial Plasmodium parasite
is time-consuming, laborious, and
can produce false negatives. Testing
for dengue fever takes up to eight
days and may also deliver inaccurate
results. However, a Singapore
medical diagnostics company, using
breakthrough molecular technology
from the National University of
Singapore, has developed rapidassay
test kits that detect killer
parasites in a matter of hours.
National University of Singapore
researchers Ursula Kara, Robert Ting, Jill
Tham, James Nelson and Theresa Tan
discovered and patented the unique
nucleic acid diagnostic primers for these
organisms over a 10 year period. The
technology was announced in 1998.
A primer is a short strand of DNA/
RNA that is required for the formation
of longer chains of DNA/RNA. Using a
single drop of blood, the highly sensitive
polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
technology can distinguish between
different Plasmodium species within
three hours. The dengue fever kit can
detect the virus within three to five days
after it first appears in the bloodstream,
compared to the usual eight days using
standard immunodiagnostic methods.
Early detection enables earlier medical
attention, which can be critical for
preventing serious complications, such
as dengue hemorrhagic fever and
dengue shock syndrome.
The National University of Singapore
has licensed its technology to Veredus
Laboratories, which is manufacturing
and selling several diagnostic kits.
Singapore’s National University Hospital
has used the Veredus dengue fever kit
for more than three years as a routine
diagnostic tool. In addition, Veredus
has produced the world’s first validated
commercial avian flu diagnostic kit,
which has cut the time required to
accurately detect the H5N1 virus from
seven days to as short as two days.
The company is also developing kits
for encephalitis, SARS, yellow fever,
Japanese encephalitis, and chicken pox.
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