Scientists at Imperial College in London have discovered a new yet cheap way to improve HIV diagnosis which will be very useful in poorer countries.
The test to diagnose the virus causing AIDS will now be more effective, sensitive and more affordable for people in poorer countries, all thanks to a new discovery by Scientists at Imperial College in London.
The new test will use nanotechnology to turn a sample to either red or blue and the results can be observed by the naked eyes, according to a research from scientists at Imperial College in London published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
"Our approach affords for improved sensitivity, does not require sophisticated instrumentation and it is ten times cheaper," Molly Stevens, who led the research, told Reuters.
Currently there is a simple test to diagnose the virus causing AIDS through the salvia but the virus can only be detected if the salvia has a high concentration of the virus. By then, the disease is already in the body in high levels and can already be termed as dangerous.
"We would be able to detect infection even in those cases where previous methods, such as the saliva test, were rendering a 'false negative' because the viral load was too low to be detected," she said.
This new test is also said to be effective in diagnosing diseases like "sepsis, Leishmaniasis, Tuberculosis and malaria," Stevens said. Also, this test doesn't only diagnose the presence of HIV virus but also shows how effective the treatment the patient is undergoing is.
"Unfortunately, the existing gold standard detection methods can be too expensive to be implemented in parts of the world where resources are scarce," Stevens said.
In a report by the World Health Organisation in 2010, approximately 23 million people out of the 34 million people that are HIV infected worldwide are from Sub-Saharan Africa. The virus is also said to be spreading faster and killing more people in this part of the world.
Stevens and her collaborator on the new test, Roberto de la Rica, said they "plan to approach not-for-profit global health organizations to help them manufacture and distribute the new sensor in low income countries."
