Researchers at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and Houston Methodist Hospital have 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.
The test is customizable to different hospitals' diagnostic laboratories and turns around results in several hours, according to a news release. The test can determine the presence of Zika in blood, amniotic fluid or spinal fluid by identifying virus-specific RNA sequences in the samples.
"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," James Versalovic, MD, PhD, leader of the Zika test development team at Texas Children's, said in a statement. "We must provide answers for anxious moms-to-be and families who may experience signs and symptoms or may simply have travel history to endemic areas."
The test is able to distinguish Zika from other prevalent mosquito-contracted viruses, including dengue, West Nile and Chikungunya. Currently, only registered Houston Methodist or Texas Children's patients are eligible to receive the test, but the labs are considering referral testing from other area facilities. It is being offered to patients who exhibit symptoms of the virus who have a travel history that correlates with the outbreak.