A new test designed to rapidly diagnose Ebola virus infection is to be tried out at a treatment center for the disease in Guinea, international health charity The Wellcome Trust said on Friday. Researchers developing the 15-minute Ebola test say it is six times faster than similar ones currently in use and, if it proves successful, could help medical staff identify and isolate confirmed Ebola patients faster and start treating them sooner. The trial, led by researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, and funded by Wellcome and the UK government, will use a "mobile suitcase laboratory" -- a portable lab the size of a laptop computer with a solar panel, a power pack and a results reader, which is designed for use in rural areas of poor countries where electricity is often in short supply. The reagent substances used in the test, which detects the genetic material of the virus, are available as dried pellets that do not need cold storage. "A reliable, 15-minute test that can confirm cases of Ebola would be a key tool for effective management of the Ebola outbreak," said Wellcome's Val Snewin. "It not only gives patients a better chance of survival, but it prevents transmission of the virus to other people." Almost 16,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the current outbreak -- centered in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia -- and 5,689 of them have died, according to latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Also on Friday, the WHO said men who recover from Ebola should abstain from sex for three months to minimize the risk of passing the virus on in their semen.
Ebola, a disease that has infected and killing thousands in a vast epidemic in West Africa, normally spreads via bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and faeces. Although sexual transmission of Ebola virus disease has never been documented, the virus has been detected in the survivors' semen.
"Men who have recovered from Ebola virus disease should be aware that seminal fluid may be infectious for as long as three months after onset of symptoms," the WHO said in a statement.
"Because of the potential to transmit the virus sexually during this time, they should maintain good personal hygiene after masturbation, and either abstain from sex (including oral sex) for three months after onset of symptoms, or use condoms if abstinence is not possible."
REUTERS