Testing for Zika
Researchers are developing a test for Zika virus that is adapted from an HIV test.
The test uses saliva to identify diagnostic markers of the virus in a fraction of the time of current commercial tests. It is being developed by researchers at New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry), US, in collaboration with molecular diagnostics company Rheonix, Inc. and is adapted from an existing model developed by NYU and Rheonix for rapid HIV testing.
It is described in two publications, PLOS ONE and the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“The recent Zika virus outbreak confirms that we need an effective surveillance and diagnostic programme to reduce the impact of future emerging infectious diseases,” said Dr Maite Sabalza, a postdoctoral associate at the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology at NYU Dentistry and the lead author of the studies in PLOS ONE and JoVE.