New research finds urine test could detect Zika virus quickly, protect unborn babies quoting : PR Newswire

It's a urine test that produces results in under 30 minutes. Dr. Lamb and her Beaumont colleagues developed a quick, simple test for Zika virus so easy to administer, you don't even need a doctor. Over the past two years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 5,274 cases of Zika virus reported in the United States. "When we discovered we could reliably detect Zika virus in urine, we knew we had the potential to change lives all over the world," Dr. Lamb said. The urine test is still in the research phase and requires additional funding and resources to allow people across the country and around the world to benefit.




The Zika virus stands to cost the United States billions of dollars, even if few people are infected. In addition, poverty in the region contributes, through factors like poor housing and environmental degradation that can boost to mosquito numbers and Infection rates. Infection rates in Puerto Rico for the similar chikungunya virus also exceed 10 percent. Data like these, along with many of the remaining questions about Zika's health effects, reinforce the notion that "we don't know more than we do know," Hotez said. This surprised many researchers, Hotez said.

Two years later, Zika virus is still a big mystery

This article originally appeared at Vocativ.com: Two years later, Zika virus is still a big mystery. Doctors now know that Zika infection can not only cause microcephaly, but a whole slew of birth defects collectively known as congenital Zika virus syndrome. At this point, we're not even sure how dangerous the Zika virus is to developing children. The current front-line tests that could be used to find Zika cases are unable to tell the difference between Zika and other flaviviruses, de Silva said. The strain of Zika that spread internationally is descended from the Asian lineage of the virus, not the African.


collected by :Lucy William
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