Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Veredus Laboratories, a leading supplier of innovative molecular diagnostic tools, announced the release of the “lab-on-chip” diagnostic kit, VereTrop, a biochip that can detect 13 tropical diseases from a single drop of blood.
This Giemsa-stained light photomicrograph revealed the presence of two Trypanosoma brucei parasites, which were found in a blood smear. Image/CDC
The lead virologist in this project, Associate Professor Lisa F.P. Ng from A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) said, “Tropical diseases often reflect common symptoms like fever, and may not be accurately diagnosed early by doctors. This portable test kit is a rapid and reliable method to accurately test for multiple pathogenic targets from just one blood sample in a matter of hours.”
The 13 tropical diseases that VereTrop can detect include African trypanosomiasis, American trypanosomiasis, malaria, leptospirosis, typhoid, melioidosis,Chikungunya, dengue, West Nile, Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, hantavirus, Rift Valley fever, hand, foot and mouth disease and HFRS, plus some 26 subtypes of the above diseases.
The VereTrop will transform infectious disease testing in the field.
Professor François H Nosten, the clinical collaborator at the Oxford Clinical Unit in Mae Sot and Director of the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit said, “This technology opens new possibilities for the accurate and rapid diagnostic of important infectious diseases that remain the main causes of illness in the tropics. Its versatility and ease of use will change the approach to diagnostics at the periphery of health care system.”
Robert - Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources.
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