On Monday, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the HHS announced it would award $2.6 million to DiaSorin Group — a diagnostic test manufacturer based in Italy with offices in Stillwater, Minn. — to further the development of a rapid, high-capacity Zika test.
The automated diagnostic test can analyze up to 120 samples at a time and produce results within an hour. The serological test works by looking for antibodies produced by the body's immune system after a Zika infection, which can be detected approximately two weeks after the initial infection and up to three months later. The development of serological tests for Zika diagnoses is critical to controlling outbreaks of the virus since 80 percent of those infected with Zika display no symptoms.
"Accurate, rapid Zika diagnostic tests to determine whether someone recently has been infected are critical to ensuring the best health outcomes during the current outbreak," said Richard Hatchett, MD, acting director for ASPR's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. "Identifying Zika cases more quickly helps people take steps to avoid additional transmission that much sooner, which helps protect pregnant women and others at risk of Zika infection."
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