Tuesday, December 23, 2025
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

    Can right brain rhythm create a super-perceiving human?

    Can right brain rhythm create a super-perceiving human?
    A certain type of brainwave plays a key role in our sensitivity towards touch and driving. The right brain rhythm can make people have more perceptual and attentive powers...

    Can right brain rhythm create a super-perceiving human?

    Can Ebola strike India?

    Can Ebola strike India?
    There are about 500 Indians in Guinea, 3,000 in Liberia and 1,200 in Sierra Leone, from where the maximum cases have been reported. Nigeria has a much...

    Can Ebola strike India?

    Indian scientists find a 'wonder herb' in the high Himalayas

    Indian scientists find a 'wonder herb' in the high Himalayas
    In the high hostile peaks of the Himalayas where sustaining life is a challenge in itself, Indian scientists say they have found a "wonder herb" which can regulate...

    Indian scientists find a 'wonder herb' in the high Himalayas

    Robotic walking stick for visually impaired

    Robotic walking stick for visually impaired
    In a first, engineers have designed a robotic walking stick for the visually impaired that can detect the user's immediate path and store localised geographical information...

    Robotic walking stick for visually impaired

    Genes may influence hangover chances

    Genes may influence hangover chances
    According to new research from University of Missouri-Columbia, genetic factors accounted for 45 percent of the difference in hangover frequency in women and 40 percent in men...

    Genes may influence hangover chances

    Green tea can protect spinal cord neurons

    Green tea can protect spinal cord neurons
    Chinese researchers have found evidence that polyphenols can protect spinal cord neurons against oxidative stress and can reduce free radical damage....

    Green tea can protect spinal cord neurons