Researchers Develop Quick Bird Flu Test
Posted on: Wednesday, 8 December 2004, 12:00 CST
HONG KONG - Researchers said Wednesday they have developed a new test that can detect bird flu in humans within hours, compared with up to a week or more for older versions.
Early diagnosis is crucial to controlling bird flu outbreaks, and the new test makes that possible by producing results in one or two hours, the project's patron, the Li Ka Shing Foundation, said in a statement.
The old tests take so long that infected people may be dead before results are available, said Guan Yi, a Hong Kong-based researcher who worked on the new version.
He said the pricing for the new test hasn't been decided, but that it would be "much cheaper" than older ones.
The new test detects antigens and antibodies to the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, as opposed to examining the virus directly by isolating it.
Bird flu has killed 32 people in Thailand and Vietnam, and millions of chickens across Asia this year. The World Health Organization has warned it could combine with a human virus and spawn the next flu pandemic, killing millions.
The new diagnostic kits are straightforward enough to be used by non-specialists on the scene of an outbreak, the statement said.
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
Related Articles
- Cepheid Announces Accelerated Development of Flu A Panel Test
- Avian Flu (Bird Flu) Ruled Out, but Duck Deaths Still a Mystery
- Indonesian girl dies of bird flu, local test shows
- Vietnam plans human bird flu vaccine tests
- Singapore Company Launches Two Avian Flu Rapid Test Kits
- Thai Suspected Bird Flu Patient Tested Negative
- Researcher Says Bird Flu Vaccine Tests May Begin in November- December
- Russia to Begin Bird Flu Vaccine Tests on 20 People in November
- W. Nile Virus Pervades Parish More Mosquitoes, Birds Test Positive for Disease
- Baxter Puts Flu Vaccine Tests on Hold
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds