Usually, the first two weeks of January are busy for researchers and scientists at Kenya Medical Research Institute Laboratories, particularly the viral load testing ones. This means that the new year begins with a backlog of samples from hospitals that the lab needs to analyse. However, that has changed thanks to the Cobas 8800 viral load testing machine donated to the institution's Mbagathi lab last August. Read: Kemri launches new machine for testing HIV viral load in labKemri's chief research officer Matilu Mwau told the Star that with their normal machines, it would take the viral load testing and analysis lab more than 20 days or the whole month to clear the December backlog. It also adds that as of 2016, 64 per cent of people living with HIV in the country were able to access treatment.

Source: The Star February 02, 2019 08:26 UTC