It costs only two dollars, which is less than eight zlotys. And it detects Zika virus even when its level is very low. Plus, no blood draw, because this test only needs saliva. Its creator is Changchun Liu and his fellow researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. This is proudly reported by the magazine “Analytical Chemistry”.
This is a breakthrough, because the tests used so far required expensive laboratory equipment and trained lab technicians or doctors. And those that could detect the presence of the virus in the field had such a low sensitivity that they often confused Zika with other viruses, such as dengue fever.
The latest test is sensitive to the presence of Zika-specific DNA fragments, in addition to as many as 19 of its strains. It works just like a pregnancy test, but it needs saliva, not urine. And more time, as much as 40 minutes. This could possibly be the longest 40 minutes of life for those who carry them out. If there is a virus in the saliva sample, the blue dye will become active during this time and characteristic stripes will appear.