VIRAL DETECTION

A team from the Department of Haematology at the University of

Cambridge has created a dipstick system for detecting multiple viral infections. The system is sensitive, simple and does not require the specialised equipment currently needed to test blood samples for HIV and hepatitis.

Dr Helen Lee and colleagues have previously developed a cheap and easy-to-use diagnostic dipstick test for chlamydia, an important and difficult-todiagnose sexually transmitted infection. Now, the group has adapted the technology to detect viruses and multiple infections.

Current testing for HIV and hepatitis involves fluorescent probes designed to bind to viral nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). Not only is this procedure expensive and time-consuming, it also requires special instruments.

Dr Lee's team developed a new dipstick for HIV-1, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, all major global public health problems. The dipstick was tested on clinical samples, after amplification of viral nucleic acid. It detected many different strains of the viruses, and produced sensitive, reproducible and specific results. As it does away with the need for complex instrumentation, the dipstick could potentially be of great benefit, particularly in resource-poor settings.

External links

• Dineva MA et al. Simultaneous visual detection of multiple viral amplicons by dipstick assay. J Clin Microbiol 2005;43(8):4015–21.