Mount Kenya University dons develop COVID-19 contact tracing system

– The KoviTrace app enables tracking of contacts of a COVID-19 patient interacted with closely within the last 14 days

– It can be installed on smartphones or accessed via a USSD for those using feature phones

– To find contacts a patient interacted with, the system administrator (Ministry of Health) only needs to key in the mobile number of the patient and all close contacts will be generated

– Confidential messages will then be sent to the contacts advising them on how to find medical attention and how to keep themselves and others safe

– The researchers hope the Ministry of Health will adopt the use of KoviTrace app and reduce the hustle and resources currently being injected in contact tracing

Tracing of COVID-19 patients and suspected cases has received a major boost following the development of a contact tracing mobile application by three scientists from Mount Kenya University (MKU).

The trio, industrial chemist Donatus Njoroge, IT expert Gideon Kamau and medical doctor Jesse Gitaka are the brains behind the “KoviTrace” app that provides access to all the persons that a patient came into close contact within the last 14 days.

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The app was developed by industrial chemist Donatus Njoroge, IT expert Gideon Kamau and medical doctor Jesse Gitaka. Photo: MKU.
Source: Facebook

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It is available in both English and Kiswahili versions and comprises a backend interface for use by the administrator (Ministry of Health) and a front end system an application that can be installed on smartphones or accessed via a USSD for those using feature phones.

“Once an individual has tested positive, an MoH official will only be required to key in his phone number onto the web portal and command it to trace all his contacts within the last 14 days instead of relying on his word of mouth, this process generates a list of all suspected cases,” said Njoroge.

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The app can be installed on smartphones or accessed via a USSD for those using feature phones. Photo: MKU.
Source: Facebook

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How KoviTrace works

In the app, after MoH officials run the phone number of the confirmed COVID-19 case, his or her identified contacts will be contacted immediately via push messages.

The alert, received in the form of a text message, also contains information on preventive measures, contacts of the nearest hospital and the emergency toll-free numbers of the respective county COVID-19 coordinator.

Njoroge said the system can trace every person that the individual has been in contact with virtually, thus minimising the risk of persons going into hiding.

“The system works for those who have installed the app in their phones or registered through a USSD code. It uses standard location application programming interface (API’s) to calculate the geo-fence of the user at a particular moment, the geo-fence and timestamp are then synced with the user at intervals of three minutes.

The identity of the patient is kept anonymous” added Mr Njoroge, who is also the head of innovations, intellectual property and community engagements at MKU.

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Industrial chemist Donatus Njoroge. Photo: MKU.
Source: UGC

Cases of patients going it hiding have recently been rife in the country and this has threatened to claw back on the gains made so far in combating the disease.

KoviTrace also provides users with updated access to WHO’s frequently asked questions about the disease and a self-screening test that gauges the user’s vulnerability to the disease based on his or her previous interactions, behaviour and movements.

The technology can be used by the Ministry of Health in tracing all persons that Covid-19 patients came into contact with, and by Kenyans in establishing if they have been in contact with persons who tested positive.

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In an earlier address, Health CAS Rashid Aman (pictured) said some patients were going into hiding after testing positive for COVID-19. Photo: MoH.
Source: UGC

Currently, the government is conducting contact tracing with help of NIS through accessing patients’ phone data to trace their last movements, a procedure that the researchers claim is not feasible at large scale, besides being expensive.

“If ‘KoviTrace’ is approved and adopted for use by the government, Kenya will rank among global economies that have established similar apps for use in taming the virus before reopening the economies.

One such country is Australia, which developed COVIDSafe, an app that is tracing contacts of patients within the last 21 days,” the trio said in a joint statement.

As of Monday, June 29, Kenya had recorded 6,190 cases of COVID-19 out of which 2,013 were recoveries and 144 deaths.

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