Cosmetic equipment detects most viruses that cause disease

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine say the new test device, called ViroCap, they have built, could help detect nearly every virus that causes disease in humans and animals.

ViroCap - device to support virus detection

According to September 29, the device promises to help doctors diagnose infections even if they have no clues about the disease. It is also faster and less expensive than current testing devices.

"With this device, you don't need to know what you're looking for - Dr. Gregory Storch, professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, says - It can detect viruses even if they are present with the jaw. Very low volume ".

The researchers said they tried to create a table of DNA and RNA sequences from viruses of 34 different "families", then use ViroCap to test.

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The results detected all viruses at the same time - something that traditional tests have not done yet. It is also possible to detect variants of common viruses, promising to help find infections that doctors never even think of.

For example, when testing in a group of 14 patients, the normal test method detected 10 people with the virus, but ViroCap discovered 4 more people with the virus.

Viruses that are missed by common testing methods are relatively common viruses, including seasonal influenza virus B; parechovirus - respiratory and mild gastrointestinal viruses; Herpes virus 1 causes mouth ulcers and varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox.

In the second trial, the researchers examined a group of children with fever of unknown origin.

The results of the normal test method found 11 viruses in these children, while ViroCap found another 7 viruses, including a harmless respiratory virus that sometimes causes serious infections.

Researchers said it would continue to perfect ViroCap and clinical trials to confirm its accuracy. It will also be widely introduced so that researchers and other doctors can research, use and improve.