Chula to develop cheap Covid-19 diagnostics

Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Centre under Chulalongkorn University announced yesterday that it is developing a Covid-19 diagnostic tool using a similar coronavirus strain to that found in local horseshoe bat populations.

Their research findings could be further used to develop affordable Covid-19 tools that are capable of delivering quick results for around 50 baht each, the centre’s director, Thiravat Hemachuda, told the Bangkok Post.

Dr Thiravat said the project is an extension of previous academic research on viruses and pathogens which are found in Thailand’s bat caves. He said the tools will be unveiled soon, although he stopped short of announcing an exact date, or how the device would work and how many would be available initially. The project was launched after a study carried out by Thai and Singaporean scientists found a…