WHO approves Ebola test reagent developed by Chinese firm

BEIJING: An Ebola test reagent developed by a Chinese firm has been approved by the WHO, the third diagnostic kit approved by the world health body after those manufactured by American and German firms.

Manufactured by Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech Co Ltd, the real-time diagnostic kit has been listed as eligible for WHO procurement and recommended to be used to diagnose Ebola virus disease worldwide, the company said in a statement.

A total of only tree kits have been approved by the World Health Organisation so far. The two others were manufactured by developers in the US and Germany, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Last November, the China Food and Drug Administration had approved the test reagent.

Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech Co Ltd is a high-tech enterprise which focuses on developing, manufacturing and selling gene diagnostic reagents.

Around 26,300 people have so far been infected with the virus, and nearly 10,900 of them have died.