Novel Malaria Diagnostics for Improved Patient Support

23 Apr 2010 09:10 Africa/Lagos

Novel Malaria Diagnostics for Improved Patient Support

MUENSTER, Germany, April 23, 2010/PRNewswire/ --


-On World Malaria Day Biotechnology Enterprise Partec Donates Diagnostic Solutions


On the occasion of World Malaria Day on April 25th, German biotechnology company Partec donates 55 fluorescence microscopes and 11.000 patient tests for malaria diagnosis to different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi.


Malaria, a disease spread to humans by tropical mosquitoe species and causing symptoms including fever, is endemic in 107 countries with 3 billion people. Over 300 million people are infected by malaria with far more than 1 million death cases annually - including one child every 30 seconds. New reliable diagnostic tools for point-of-care testing therefore play the key role for improving targeted patient support.


The diagnostic solution donated by Partec provides a uniquely easy-to-use, affordable and ultrarapid method for highly sensitive malaria testing by combining a unique class of mobile and battery-operated fluorescence microscopes with ready-to-use test slides, which already carry ready-prepared dried-in reagents on the slide surface, eliminating any need for cold chain and cold storage, as usually required for conventional malaria tests.


"The World Malaria Day is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria," says Partec's Chief Executive Officer Roland Göhde. "In this context, the new diagnostic technology for the first time opens the opportunity to bring most reliable Malaria testing to almost every patient, especially in remote areas and those regions suffering from a low level of laboratory infrastructure, limited or missing electricity supply and a shortcut of skilled laboratory personnel."


The CyScope fluorescence microscopy technology of Partec has been developed and is being produced entirely in Germany, renowned for the long tradition in manufacturing highest quality precision optics and microscopes.


Since 2002, Partec is active in 100 countries worldwide, providing and implementing complete packages of diagnostic solutions for TB, Malaria and HIV/AIDS, specifically designed to meet the requirements of developing, emerging and resource-constrained countries with limited infrastructure.



Contact:
Christiane Kraus
Chief Operating Officer
Partec GmbH
Am Flugplatz 13, 02828 Gorlitz
Phone: +49-3581-8746-0
Telefax: +49-3581-8746-70
c.kraus@partec.com
http://www.partec.com




Source: Partec GmbH

Contact: Christiane Kraus, Chief Operating Officer, Partec GmbH, Am Flugplatz 13, 02828 Gorlitz, Phone: +49-3581-8746-0, Telefax: +49-3581-8746-70, c.kraus@partec.com