COVID-19: We want to procure equipment to design test kits, says NIMR DG

Babatunde Salako, director-general of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), says the institute is in talks with a foreign country to procure equipment for designing kits in the outbreak of any disease in the country.

Salako disclosed this in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday.

He said the institute is ready to accept donations from “any individual or group,” willing to pay the vendor for the equipment.

“We are relating [with] a foreign country, even in this situation of a ban on international travels and lock-down in many states in the country. If we get that equipment, we will be able to design any kit for any disease outbreak. Any individual or group that wants to help really doesn’t need to bring the money; they can pay the vendor for the equipment we would not mind,” he said.

On whether NIMR is considering the use of chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 cases, he said the institute is collaborating with the Lagos state government and will conduct trials in the next few weeks.

“Since this has become public knowledge, and a lot of people may want to begin to use it without guidance in Nigeria, at NIMR, we thought that we should use that opportunity to look at chloroquine in our own patients too and be able to offer advice to help health workers on its use in COVID-19 infection,” he said.

“We will also be looking at the use of chloroquine in the prevention of this infection, especially among contacts and possibly healthcare workers. Whatever information we come up with will be written as brief for the government to the medical community on whether they should use chloroquine or not. NIMR is doing this in conjunction with the Lagos State government. Already, we are finalising the protocol adapted from the World Health Organisation guidelines for clinical trials and in the next few weeks, we should start.”