Nigerian Researcher Develops Low-Cost Rotavirus Test for Bedside Use

"It is easy and almost mess-free," Japhet said. "You do not need trained personnel. You can just tell somebody, even a high school student, 'This is how it works. '" The kit has completed proof-of-concept and pilot testing in clinical settings. Results were published in the journal Methods and Protocols in 2025.

Japhet and her colleagues compared the nanobead-based test with ELISA and PCR using stool samples from children. The new kit demonstrated 88 percent sensitivity against ELISA, which showed 60 percent sensitivity in the same samples. The test has also been validated in three Nigerian hospitals using samples from children with diarrhea.

"We collected samples from children with diarrhea in three different hospitals and checked our kit against [other] methods," Japhet said. " Chukwubike Chinedu, a rotavirus specialist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, said the kit is faster and easier to use than ELISA.

It can provide results at the bedside without laboratory infrastructure, though it cannot detect all rotavirus types and may not fully replace other tests.

Japhet said that once a steady supply of antibodies is secured, the kit could be produced at low cost for local clinics and district hospitals. Wider deployment will require consistent manufacturing, funding and partnerships. Vaccination remains central to rotavirus prevention.

Nigeria introduced the rotavirus vaccine into its national immunization program in 2022, following evidence that included Japhet's earlier research. By 2023, 38 out of 47 countries in the World Health Organization African region had introduced the vaccine, though many children do not complete the full dosing schedule.

Testing complements vaccination by enabling outbreak detection, strain tracking and assessment of vaccine performance. "Without testing, health systems lack the data needed to understand how rotavirus is behaving," Japhet said.