Dive Brief:
- Two Texas Medical Center institutions announced Tuesday the development of the first hospital-based, rapid test for the Zika virus.
- Resarchers at Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital created the test in just a matter of weeks through a philanthropic grant aimed at developing virus detection in the metropolitan area.
- The test is able to yield results within hours and can be performed on blood, amniotic fluid, urine or spinal fluid, the researchers say.
Dive Insight:
The hospital-based test could be a game changer in Texas if the region is hit by Zika-carrying mosquitoes this summer. However, for the time-being, it remains available only to the registered patients of the two collaborating hospitals, which announced they will "consider referral testing from other hospitals and clinics in the future."
Meanwhile, Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Carrie Williams told Reuters, "We are definitely supportive of labs bringing up the ability to test for Zika virus across the state," adding the agency planned to immediately augment its own testing capabilities.
“With travel-associated cases of the Zika virus becoming more prevalent in the United States, coupled with the looming increase in mosquito exposure during spring and summer months, we must be prepared for a surge of Zika testing demand,” stated James Versalovic, MD, PhD pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children’s.
The development comes as the CDC warns transmission of Zika through sex may be more common than previously thought.
