New malaria test represent medical change, says expert

The newly launched Urine Malaria Test (UMT) is said to represent medical change, that is a new way of managing malaria in the country.

Hence, it is expected to play a major role in the country national guideline, which stipulates test before treatment.

UMT, which is a new initiative on test for malaria, using urine was recently launched in Lagos and Abuja.


The UMT is developed by Fyodor Biotechnologies does does not require use of blood invasion unlike existing rapid diagnostic test for malaria.

Speaking on the gains of the new technology, Dr. Eddy Agbo, chairman of Fyodor said there is no more guest work in the treatment of malaria with the latest breakthrough.

He explained that based on recombinant antibody technology which searches for malaria parasite in urine sample, and the strip indicates its presence.

“There should be no guesswork by any health provider as to whether a patient has malaria or not,” he added.

“We have a game changer in our hands.” UMT has taken seven years in the making, and involved Johns Hopskins University, University of Maryland and University of Nigeria, Nsukka in discovery, clinical development and analysis.”

He also noted that the UMT could be described as changing the way we do things, especially the way we manage malaria.

” So, this is for us, medical change. we are advocate for change, doing things differently in improved manner. We can’t be doing the same thing and expect a different result. So, the idea is for to be part of bringing new and improved way of treating malaria,” Agbo further added.

He also stressed that going forward, UMT will become mainstream soon in compliance with national guidelines to test before treatment for malaria.

He said over 2000 people took part in the clinical trials for the test, in what could be considered the “first fullscale clinical trial for a medical product ever undertaken in Nigeria.”

Speaking at the launch of UMT in Abuja recently, Dr. Victoria Enwemadu, Fyodor’s global head of projects, said “There are some challenges with adopting that (national malaria testing) guideline mainstream because of the invasiveness of trying to get blood for testing. Now we have made it easier by just using urine to test for malaria.”

The UMT includes a strip that is dipped into urine sample for 25 minutes to give results which can be read as positive, negative or valid, when compared against a control.