The Zika test from the University of Washington's School of Medicine obtains marketing authorization

A Zika diagnostic test developed by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has recently been licensed to the market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to a press release published Wednesday on the university website, the use of an antibody and other components to detect anti-Zika antibodies in the blood of newly infected people by the virus can detect signs of infection with Zika in the serum samples within 12 weeks of infection, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

The test is not intended to be used as a proof of autonomous infection. The FDA recommends that the test be used only in people with symptoms of recent infection, as well as a history of people living or traveling in geographical areas where Zika circulates. Positive results must be confirmed in accordance with the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Zika virus can cause babies to develop devastating brain damage. But the signs of infection in Zika in the adult: rash, fever, headache and body aches, are not specific, so that a pregnant woman who develops such symptoms can not to be sure if she contracted Zika or something less risky for her fetus.

"This test, coupled with another one that detects viral genetic material at the earliest stages of infection, will help women and their physicians make informed decisions about health care," said Michael S. Diamond. , co-inventor of the technology on which the test is based. and Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Pathology and Immunology at the University of Washington.

(With the exception of the title, this story was not changed by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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