The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated  additional two laboratories, bringing the total number of its laboratories to 28.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of NCDC, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the agency was pleased at the activation of the  two laboratories for inclusion in its molecular laboratory network.

Ihekweazu said that the two laboratories were located at Afriglobal Medicare Laboratory in Ogun  and the Sahel Centre for Molecular Diagnostics and Research, Katsina State.

He said that the NCDC had a testing strategy, adding that it was using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to scale for the COVID-19.

“At the moment, the COVID-19 tests that we report daily are coming from the PCR. It detects genetic information of the virus, the RNA.

“PCR tests are used to directly detect the presence of an antigen rather than the presence of the body’s immune response or antibodies.

“By detecting viral RNA, the tests can tell whether or not someone has the virus very early,” he said.

Ihekweazu said that PCR remained  the most accurate method to determine  infection.

He noted that by scaling PCR testing to screen nasopharyngeal swab samples, the NCDC officials would  get a better understanding of the level of spread of the virus.

He, however, noted that PCR tests could be labour-intensive, with several stages at which errors might occur between sampling and analysis.

“This is why the agency has focused on strengthening quality assurance in its network of laboratories.

“Countries have adopted varying strategies for COVID-19 diagnosis;  in Nigeria, it is important that we get it right.

“Nigeria has its own national testing strategy for COVID-19 with detailed information on how we will ramp-up testing for various phases of transmission by leveraging existing technology.

“We are thinking ahead and also have plans in place to meet the demand for testing at various points of the response,” he said.