Ebola Diagnosis Now Possible in Minutes! New Blood Test Shows Promise

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A newly developed blood test can diagnose Ebola infection within minutes, according to a new research.

The rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) kit, called Corgenix ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test kit, can diagnose Ebola by putting a drop of blood on a test strip that changes color in five to 15 minutes, according Time. The new test is faster than current standard laboratory tests and can curb the spread of Ebola through earlier identification and isolation of infected patients.

The data published in the journal, The Lancet, found that the rapid test kit was just as sensitive and accurate as standard diagnostic tests done in a lab.

For the trials, the researchers tested 106 suspected Ebola patients in Sierra Leone with either the new testing kit or the standard lab test, RealStar; they found that both procedures detected most confirmed cases but the new test kit was faster. What's more is that ReEBOV is the only RDT that has been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We can conclude that the ReEBOV rapid diagnostic test could be very useful as a rapid test for Ebola virus disease at the point of care in high-risk populations," said study author Nira Pollock of the Boston Children's Hospital and colleagues in the study.

Dr. Jana Broadhurst, of Boston's Partners In Health, and co-author of the study said that the test could immediately impact Ebola patient care and infection. 

"This test could have an immediate impact on patient care and infection control by reliably detecting patients well into their illness who are likely to be highly infectious. Earlier test results would improve triage of patients, enabling staff to focus on those most likely to have Ebola, and reducing the opportunity for infection of non-Ebola 'suspects'," Dr. Broadhurst said, as per News Medical.

RealStar is created by altona Diagnostics, a German company. According to ABC, this type of conventional blood sample analysis not only takes several days to process, but poses infection risk to healthcare workers.

"Delays like this result not only in the failure to diagnose and treat Ebola-infected patients, but also in individuals without Ebola being admitted to holding units where they may be subsequently infected with the virus," Dr. Pollock added.

However, another test similar to RealStar called Trombley, which is not yet widely available, has been proven to detect other types of virus where previous test kits have not. This meant that Pollock and colleagues could not determine if ReEBOV was effective in detecting early infection when virus levels are low among suspected Ebola cases.