Rapid Test for West Nile Virus

A rapid new test is designed to diagnose individual patients with West Nile fever or West Nile meningoencephalitis in less than an hour. The test has been approved by Health Canada.

West Nile virus infection is a mosquito-borne illness believed to have infected tens of thousands of people in North America since its emergence over the last several years. Symptoms are difficult for doctors to diagnose, and current testing practices may take as long as two weeks to provide clinical results. About 1 in every 150 patients infected with the virus will develop a serious infection such as encephalitis or meningitis, which can result in paralysis or death. In 2005, it is estimated that the virus has killed nearly 100 people in North America to date, with several thousand cases confirmed.

The IgM STATus rapid test was developed by Spectral Diagnostics, Inc. (Toronto, Canada) and its joint-venture research and development partner, IDx, Inc. (Burlington, VT, USA). Spectral has developed several rapid-format tests, including a test measuring markers of heart attack and a test for sepsis.

"We are pleased to have received this regulatory approval along with Spectral,” said Dr. Joseph Keffer, chief scientist and managing director of IDX. "The partnership of IDx's research and development capabilities with Spectral's regulatory, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities has been a powerful tool in rapidly bringing this product forward to market. We, along with Spectral, continue to develop new diagnostics targeting important emerging infectious diseases of major public health need.”





Related Links:
Spectral Diagnostics
IDx