Local DNA tests save thousands in forex
THE Department of Civil Protection has spent more than US$85 000 carrying out DNA profiling in the identification of disaster victims, bringing hope and relief to relatives of the victims.
Civil Protection Unit director Mr Nathan Nkomo yesterday said his unit had, with the support of services of the Applied Genetic Testing Centre at the National University of Science and Technology, managed to conduct DNA tests on victims of Cyclone Idai and numerous bodies burnt beyond recognition in road traffic accidents.
“We have spent over US$80 000 on DNA tests and if you include the Gandanzara accident victims, and the ongoing tests on Cyclone Idai victims, the figures could be more,” he said.
“This figure exceeds US$85 000 as there are other costs related to supporting police forensic work. Carrying out DNA tests for the Gandanzara victims cost us US$5 200. This figure could have been more if we were sending DNA samples to South Africa for tests.
“NUST has helped us a lot to save foreign currency and to cut time on waiting periods for results. Their support is giving us mileage and offering relief to relatives of victims. For instance, the latest case only took us two weeks. It’s quite reasonable for us.”
Zimbabwe now uses DNA identification of human remains in disaster cases, with experts sampling muscle, bone, bone marrow and teeth tissues and matching them to blood or other samples from relatives to identify unrecognisable remains in a disaster.
Some of the major work done in recent years includes DNA tests for road traffic accidents, that include the Brooklyn bus disaster between West Nicholson and Gwanda, where 35 people were burnt beyond recognition, Mvuma accident in 2017 with 23 victims, Mvurwi 11, Gandanzara 8 and the Mashava air traffic accident that claimed three people.
The biggest task in years involves work on the victims of Cyclone Idai, where more than 300 people died when they were swept away by floods. Not all remains have been found and those still missing are now being legally registered as dead, but there are bodies buried in Mozambique that can now be identified.
Tropical Cyclone Idai, the worst in more than 50 years, brought heavy rainfall and strong winds to Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe between March 5 and 19, 2019, causing severe flooding, which led to loss of lives, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of livelihoods and destruction of crops.
Idai alone killed more than 1 500 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
“We have only managed to exhume 31 bodies of Cyclone Idai victims and tests are still on-going. Due to the lapse of time, NUST experts are experiencing challenges with the samples,” Mr Nkomo said.
“We are yet to get positive results on the samples. If we do not get positive results on the Cyclone Idai victims of Chimanimani, with at least 10 or better, we may discontinue the investigations.
“DNA tests have helped us a lot to bring closure for families who would have lost their loved ones. Burying someone whom you are aware of and giving them a decent burial is quite important for the relatives of the victims.”
However, DNA degradation due to environmental factors such as sunlight, heat, humidity and lapse of time could pose huge challenges for the DNA analysis of Cyclone Idai victims.