The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche has obtained emergency authorization from the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) for testing for the Ebola virus. Called “LightMix Ebola Zaire test”, this screening test is very easy to use. “It allows to provide assistance to health personnel in order to quickly detect the presence of the virus and to start treatment as quickly as possible if necessary”, indicated in a press release Roland Diggelmann, operating director of the diagnostic division at Roche.
The test also received the European CE mark through its German manufacturer TIB MOLBIOL.
Half the time now
Currently, the screening tests used in West African countries affected by the virus are based on laborious procedures and require at least 6 hours to obtain a result. The new “Light mix” test is a first step towards what the World Health Organization (WHO) would like, namely a test that can be carried out by simple finger prick which would provide results “in less than 30 minutes” without asking for more. than simply “wearing personal protective equipment”.
The death toll from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa now stands at 7,693 out of a total of 19,695 cases recorded in the three most affected countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea). In total, the virus has already killed at least 7,708 people around the world, according to the update of the World Health Organization. Outside these three countries, the death toll remains unchanged: 6 in Mali where the last patient tested negative on December 6, 1 in the United States and 8 in Nigeria.
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