Researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute Develop Blood Test That Reveals a Patient’s Viral History; Could Reduce Unnecessary Clinical Laboratory Testing
The VirScan test gives doctors insight into a patient’s lifetime exposure to viruses and thus may be developed into a useful medical laboratory test
Scientists and pathologists are learning that blood is like a time capsule, holding precious information about exposure to viruses over the years—chickenpox at five, mononucleosis at 18, flu at 40. You get the idea.
Now, researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) have found a way to tap that entire data stream, so to speak. An inexpensive blood test, they say, reveals every virus that has passed through the body over time.
New Discoveries Could Lead to a Useful Clinical Laboratory Test
The testing method, called VirScan by researchers, is an efficient alternative to current medical laboratory tests that test for specific viruses one at a time, according to an HHMI news statement about the new technology. (more…)
