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Antenatal screening in Sub-Saharan Africa faces a critical gap: today, testing for infectious diseases is still predominantly limited to HIV. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends combining HIV screening with tests for Syphilis and viral Hepatitis. Currently, these screenings are conducted using individual strip tests.

Handling multiple rapid tests in parallel presents several challenges. These include usability issues such as multiple finger pricks and varying incubation times, which are difficult to manage during a consultation and can lead to potential errors. Additionally, storing multiple rapid tests in primary care settings poses logistical constraints due to the varying shelf lives and storage requirements of these tests.

For these reasons, the WHO supports the development of multiplex tests.

Regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa face additional challenges due to financial constraints. When a screening test for Hepatitis B is positive, referral for treatment requires additional analyses to guide treatment decisions. This testing is performed in laboratories, is expensive, and is often unaffordable for pregnant women.

As part of the MAGFA project, financed by EDCTP3, MagIA diagnostics and its partners aim to develop a combined screening panel for HIV, viral Hepatitis, and Syphilis, called MagIA H³S, specifically for pregnant women. Additionally, they will develop a MagIA TREATB panel to refer HBV-infected pregnant women for prophylactic treatment to prevent perinatal transmission of the virus. This rapid “TEST & TREAT” approach during a single consultation will significantly reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission.

To evaluate and validate this approach, clinical validation will be performed on a large cohort of samples in central labs. The tests will then be evaluated during perinatal consultations involving 7,500 pregnant women across four provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This evaluation will demonstrate the feasibility and impact of integrating such a “TEST & TREAT” approach into routine antenatal care.

HIV
SYPHILIS
HBV
Coverage of antenatal screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
83% of pregnant women tested
47% of pregnant women tested
<1% of pregnant women tested
Impact in Sub-Saharan Africa
120,000 new infections in children
216,000 cases of congenital Syphilis
360,000 new infections in infants

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