US can detect Ebola virus in seconds: Report

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/10/18/382670/us-can-detect-ebola-virus-in-seconds/


The United States has a minimally invasive test that can minimize the amount of time needed to detect the Ebola virus to a few seconds, a new report says.

American researchers working at the Department of Energy have developed the test in a laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee and now they are attempting to find a partner to commercialize the know-how, the International Business Times reported on Saturday.

So far, one contractor named Healtheon Inc. of New Orleans, which produces various diagnostic tools, has expressed readiness to cooperate with the department.

The department called its test “rapid, portable viral diagnostic for RNA viruses,” specifically Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

The newly-developed technology can help increase Ebola testing throughout developed countries in West Africa which have received the hardest hit.

The Department of Energy noted that rapid diagnostics “are critical elements” for effectively responding to viral outbreaks, adding they have certain limitations such as technology and implementation though.

It said that the test can also detect other viruses including Hanta, Dengue, West Nile and several other exotic viruses.  

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has said that the Ebola outbreak has so far left about 4,500 dead.

One of the victims was American Thomas Eric Duncan who died after traveling from Liberia. Two nurses who treated Duncan contracted the virus and now are receiving treatment.

House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday called on President Barack Obama to “absolutely consider” travel ban on passengers coming to the United States from West African countries.

However, Obama said the travel ban would not be effective against the spread of the deadly disease.

"I don't have a philosophical objection necessarily to a travel ban if that is the thing that is going to keep Americans safe," Obama said on Thursday, a day after he met with members of his Ebola response team.