Close X
Saturday, November 16, 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

    Computer to help spinal cord injury victims walk

    Computer to help spinal cord injury victims walk
    For helping people with spinal cord injury walk better, researchers have made an artificial connection from the brain to the locomotion centre in the...

    Computer to help spinal cord injury victims walk

    How immune system triggers psychological disorders

    How immune system triggers psychological disorders
    People with high levels of "inflammatory marker" proteins released into the blood in response to infection are at greater risk of developing depression and psychosis, says a study....

    How immune system triggers psychological disorders

    'Love hormone' helps autistic kids

    'Love hormone' helps autistic kids
    Researchers from Stanford University have found that oxytocin has a tremendous effect on such kids' ability to function socially....

    'Love hormone' helps autistic kids

    Lead exposure can make you fat

    Lead exposure can make you fat
    Even at low levels, lead is associated with obesity in mice whose mothers were exposed to the chemical, researchers at University of Michigan have found....

    Lead exposure can make you fat

    Office with windows boosts health of workers

    Office with windows boosts health of workers
    The windows in your office may open gateways to good health as researchers have found that daylight in office improves worker's sleep, physical activity and quality of life....

    Office with windows boosts health of workers

    How brain tumours evade body's defences

    How brain tumours evade body's defences
    Brain tumours evade detection by the body's defence forces by coating their cells with extra amounts of galectin-1 protein, says a study....

    How brain tumours evade body's defences