Rapid Diagnostic Test for Ebola
New test diagnoses the Ebola virus in minutes
Megan Murray, DPH, MD, HMS professor of global health and social medicine and director of research at Partners In Health and Ann Miller, PhD, MPH, research associate in global health and social medicine are co-authors on a paper titled, "ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test kit for point-of-care and laboratory-based testing for Ebola virus disease: a field validation study," published by The Lancet.
The purpose of the study was to determine if a newly developed rapid test was as accurate in diagnosing the Ebola virus as the current recommended molecular testing—the result are promising. The long-method "molecular" testing involves drawing a sample of potentially infected blood often using unsafe equipment. The samples are then transport long distances to testing facilities and care providers must wait up to several days for results. The implications of this testing are far reaching.
The rapid testing is done with a finger stick at the point of care, the sample is applied to a treated strip, and if the sample is positive for Ebola, the results show as a distinct line on the strip. This process, from sample to diagnosis, is about 15 minutes and the rapid diagnosis test detected all confirmed cases of Ebola that were positive results by the benchmark test.
The research team cautions, "given the limitations of the performance of the benchmark RT-PCR reference test in patients with low levels of the virus, more research is needed to assess how the new rapid diagnostic test will perform in patients still in the early stages of Ebola virus disease." Medical Xpress
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