Virus test developed by 15 Hong Kong university students could mean difference between life and death in an epidemic
Chinese University of Hong Kong undergraduates design new method for identifying virus subtypes which could help doctors gain critical time in an outbreak
A faster and easier test for viruses has been developed by Hong Kong university students which could speed up treatment and save lives by allowing doctors to make quicker decisions and gain critical time when faced with the threat of an epidemic.
The testing method, designed by a team of 15 undergraduates at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has already been put to work on influenza A viruses in preliminary experiments, where it was able to identify subtypes in about an hour.
That time was much faster than the conventional method of testing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which requires three to four hours.
“If frontline health workers know earlier whether a patient is a high-risk one, say, suffering from avian flu, diagnosis and treatment could be given earlier,” said Cathy Wong Wing-sze, a fourth-year student in the team.
The research group comprised students from the university’s school of life sciences and biomedical engineering department.
