Texas hospitals say they have developed rapid test for Zika

Researchers at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and HoustonMethodistHospitalhave collaborated to develop the first hospital-based rapid test for Zika as part of a sponsored program to facilitate development of a diagnostic for the virus in a large, metropolitan area.

Officials said the same scenario played out in most, if not all, of the suspected cases: A man who had travelled to a Zika-affected area returned the United States and had sex with a female partner, who soon began to display symptoms consistent with Zika.

All pregnant women who have recently traveled to a country or territory where mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus are known to live are strongly advised to get themselves tested to check to see if they have it, according to Dr. James Musser, co-leader of the Houston Methodist test development team. The findings have raised new speculations about the ability of spread of the virus through sexual transmission. Other hospitals are expected to announce their own hospital-based rapid tests in the coming days and weeks, thus eliminating the need to course samples through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The officials till now were suggesting that the spread of the mosquito-borne virus was a rare phenomena however, considering the new cases, certain questions have been raised about the role of sexual transmission of the virus and could it affect the acceleration of the spread. So far, all the 82 Zika infections diagnosed in the USA have involved people who traveled to outbreak regions. CDC and state public heath departments are investigating these cases, several of which involve pregnant women. It has confirmed 583 cases of microcephaly, up from 508 a week earlier.

Washington Post reports that preliminary laboratory tests have confirmed the infection in four other women; however, they are awaiting final confirmation. Research efforts underway will also examine the link between Zika and GBS. The CDC on Tuesday expanded its Zika travel advisory to two more places – the Marshall Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Tesh said scientists have learned more about Zika in the last two months than they have in nearly 70 years. It can distinguish between other viruses the mosquitoes that carry Zika virus are also known to sometimes carry, dengue, West Nile, and Chikungunya viruses.

A 16-member team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started work in Joao Pessoa, in northeastern Brazil, that is the epicenter of the country’s Zika outbreak.