New Blood Test Could Detect Viral Infections More Accurately. The AP (9/19, Neergaard) reports researchers at Duke University “are developing a blood test to more easily tell when a respiratory illness is due to a virus and not a bacterial infection,” which could reduce antibiotic overuse and shorten diagnosis time. The Duke researchers “discovered 30 genes that are switched on in different ways during a viral attack.” The study results, published (9/19) in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found “the genomic test proved 89 percent accurate in sorting out who had a virus, and did even better at ruling out those who didn’t.” On its website, CBS News (9/19, Castillo) reports the test can produce results in around 12 hours, whereas “current methods take several days to figure out whether a bacteria or a virus made a person sick, and they aren’t always accurate.” The researchers noted the blood test’s potential to “help identify illnesses caused by unknown emerging diseases, including potential bioterrorism threats.” HealthDay (9/19, Preidt) notes that in a news release, Dr. Geoffrey Ginsburg, study co-senior author, said, “In instances such as pandemic flu or the corona virus that has erupted in the Middle East, it’s extremely important to diagnose a viral illness far more accurately and speedier than can be done using traditional diagnostics.” Medscape (9/19) also reports on the story.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:04:07 +0000
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