Researchers announced that they designed a new paper-based device for diagnosing Ebola. This diagnosis kit can be used for easily testing people living in remote areas, according to the new study.
A paper strip in the device is used to test a blood sample from a person with a fever. The paper can indicate whether or not a person has Ebola by changing to a specific color. The test also indicates the presence of other infectious diseases, such as yellow fever or dengue fever.
In the year 2014, in West Africa began the largest Ebola outbreak in history. The need for a rapid and simple Ebola test is needed urgently since one of the ways to containing an epidemic is to quickly identify and isolate the infected patients. In case of Ebola, the early signs of infection, such as fever and headache, are similar to symptoms of other infectious disease, such as dengue and yellow fever. What makes the issue worse is the fact that these diseases are initially difficult to diagnose without a blood test.
The new paper-based diagnosis test does not require electricity and takes only minutes, working in a similar manner to over-the-counter pregnancy tests. The lab tests are potentially more accurate, however, they require expensive equipment and technical expertise. With this paper test device, doctors can quickly identify people with Ebola in remote areas, according to the researchers. In epidemics such as Ebola, it is important that the patients are placed in quarantine, in order to stop the spreading of the disease.
The researcher Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass., explained in a news release from the American Chemical Society that this new paper-based test is not meant to replace standard lab test because it cannot match their accuracy. However, the value of the new Ebola test consists in the fact that it can be easily used in areas with no electricity and running water.
The device was developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and researchers at MITand Harvard Medical School. The study and demonstration of the device are scheduled to be presented at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Boston and later published in a peer-reviewed journal.
According to Hamad-Schifferli, the researchers plan to produce free kits for distribution. By giving people the components to build the devices themselves, the scientists are trying to move their Ebola diagnosis device into the field, "in the hands of the people who need it".
