Close X
Friday, November 15, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Ebola test results now in 15 minutes!

Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Nov, 2014 12:46 PM
    A 15-minute blood and saliva test for Ebola is to be tried in Guinea.
     
    The project, led by the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, uses a "mobile suitcase laboratory", BBC reported.
     
    It is portable, solar-powered and can be used at room temperature.
     
    The project is being funded by the Wellcome Trust medical charity and the Britain's Department for International Development.
     
    "A reliable, 15-minute test that can confirm cases of Ebola would be a key tool for effective management of the Ebola outbreak - allowing patients to be identified, isolated and cared for as soon as possible," an official from Wellcome Trust said. 
     
    "It not only gives patients a better chance of survival, but it prevents transmission of the virus to other people."
     
    "This pilot study is particularly promising because researchers have considered how to make the test suitable for use in remote field hospitals, where resources -- such as electricity and cold storage are often in short supply," the official added.
     
    Ebola is currently diagnosed by hunting for the virus's genetic material in the blood of a patient.
     
    But it requires dedicated laboratories that can keep the components of the test at very low temperatures.
     
    Patients in Conakry will still have the proven test, but the new faster method will be trialed at the same time so the results can be compared.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Ebola: When It's Contagious, How It Spreads And Other Things You Need To Know To Stay Safe

    Ebola: When It's Contagious, How It Spreads And Other Things You Need To Know To Stay Safe
    Only when someone is showing symptoms, which can start with vague symptoms including a fever, flu-like body aches and abdominal pain, and then vomiting and diarrhea.

    Ebola: When It's Contagious, How It Spreads And Other Things You Need To Know To Stay Safe

    Brain may produce nerve cells even after stroke

    Brain may produce nerve cells even after stroke
    Scientists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism through which the brain produces new nerve cells even after a stroke....

    Brain may produce nerve cells even after stroke

    How the Ebola virus got its name

    How the Ebola virus got its name
    The deadly Ebola virus that has killed over 3,300 people in West Africa since its current outbreak was confirmed in March, was christened in 1976 after a river....

    How the Ebola virus got its name

    Faecal capsules may treat gut infection

    Faecal capsules may treat gut infection
    C. difficile bacteria live harmlessly in many people's guts alongside hundreds of other species - all competing for space and food. But some antibiotics can kill C...

    Faecal capsules may treat gut infection

    High cholesterol ups risk of prostate cancer recurrence

    High cholesterol ups risk of prostate cancer recurrence
    Higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two types of fat, in the blood of men who underwent surgery for prostate cancer, may increase risk of disease recurrence, says a study....

    High cholesterol ups risk of prostate cancer recurrence

    Healthy lifestyles reduces bowel cancer risk in men

    Healthy lifestyles reduces bowel cancer risk in men
    Men who opt for multiple healthy lifestyle behaviours are at less risk of developing bowel cancer than women, a significant study shows....

    Healthy lifestyles reduces bowel cancer risk in men