Before now test for Ebola Virus disease took at least 8hrs! However, scientists, have invented a new device similar to a simple pregnancy home-test which allows doctors to diagnose a patient with suspected Ebola in under 15 minutes!
The scientists who are a team French developers announced on Tuesday, that trials at a high-security lab have validated the technique and prototype kits should be available in Ebola-hit countries by the end of October for a clinical trial, France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) said in a statement.
The diagnostic tool, which has not yet been approved by regulators, works by monoclonal antibodies reacting to the presence of virus in a tiny sample, which can be a drop of blood, plasma or urine, it said.
A European pharma company Vedalab is turning it into a user-friendly kit called Ebola eZYSCREEN.
Similar to a DIY pregnancy test, a positive result sees a small stripe showing up in a results window on the hand-held device.
The kit is simple to use in the field without any additional equipment, said the CEA, which also does non-nuclear research with a possible military or security application.
"It can give a result in less than 15 minutes for anyone showing symptoms of the disease,"
"Current tests, which are based on genetic detection of the virus, are highly sensitive but need special equipment, take between two and a quarter and two and a half hours and can only be carried out in a lab," the CEA explained..