Ebola experts seek to expand testing

 NATURE  by Declan Butler                                                                            Dec. 9, 2014

The Ebola crisis in West Africa is approaching the one-year mark, with no clear end in sight. At present, fewer than one in five people with Ebola is diagnosed within two days of becoming infectious, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Yet in the absence of a safe and effective vaccine, the only way to end the epidemic is to quickly identify and quarantine people who have been infected.

A major problem is that relatively few laboratories in West Africa have the necessary equipment and personnel to test blood samples from people thought to have Ebola (see ‘Delayed diagnoses’). But that could soon change. Experts are gathering in Geneva, Switzerland, on 12 December to work out which diagnostic tools could be used wherever Ebola strikes.

The meeting, convened by the WHO and the non-profit Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), also in Geneva, seeks to identify tests that can be used by untrained staff, do not require electricity or can run on batteries or solar power and use reagents that can withstand temperatures of 40 °C. Experts will also discuss how such diagnostics could be rolled out widely in Ebola-stricken areas, and will develop a six-month plan to improve access to testing. If the push succeeds, it would mark an important strategic shift in efforts to end the epidemic.

http://www.nature.com/news/ebola-experts-seek-to-expand-testing-1.16518