Singapore researchers create fast, cheap bird flu detection kit

CBC News

Scientists in Singapore say they have developed a portable device that can detect the H5N1 bird flu virus faster and cheaper than any other method.

The palm-sized device is able to detect within 28 minutes the presence of the H5N1 virus from a throat swab or stool sample from humans and poultry, Dr. Masafumi Inoue, one of the researchers from the Singapore-based Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, told the Associated Press. Other tests return results in roughly four hours.

A chip that can detect the deadly bird flu virus in 28 minutes, faster than any other method. (AP Photo/Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, HO)
AP Research on the testing kit was published Monday in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. Lead author Juergen Pipper says a single test may cost as little as 20 to 50 cents, compared to $20-$50 for existing kits, Bloomberg News reports.

Monday's announcement has implications for efforts to contain the virus at its source. Experts say the quick administration of antiviral drugs, backed by quarantines, could be key to stopping H5N1 from spreading — as long as the first clusters of cases are discovered quickly.

That's only possible if the developing world has access to a low-cost, fast method for detecting the virus. Most cases of human bird-flu infections have been in developing countries.

"This strategy … could easily be adapted for other infectious diseases, such as SARS, HIV and hepatitis B," the study's authors write.

The scientists say the portable device works by isolating, purifying and amplifying the viral DNA from samples so that it can then be identified.

Avian influenza has killed at least 200 people worldwide, but it remains hard for people to become infected with. Experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic.

With files from the Associated Press