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Photo: United Nations World Food Programme
MSF health team in the village carrying a suspected Ebola patient.[/caption]
A research scientist of Liberian origin, Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, has invented a diagnostic test that can detect and distinguish seven different viruses at the same time. The viruses include HIV, hepatitis viruses, and another virus called Dengue hemorrhagic fever virus (which has similar symptoms like the Ebola virus) infection.
As lead-inventor, Dr. Nyan developed the test while working at the Laboratory of Emerging Pathogens at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States of America. The test is what scientist called a rapid procedure that can give test-results in less than one hour by using the patient blood samples. According to the US Federal Registry publication of October 15, 2014 entitle "Quantitative Multiplex Methods for Rapid Detection and Identification of Viral Nucleic Acids", the test has been patented by the US government.
Information available to the FDA and the NIH technology office, the US government may have an interest in filing an international patent application for Dr. Nyan's inventions. Already, part of the test in diagnosis of Hepatitis B virus was published in May 2014 in a journal, called Clinical Infection Diseases. The test, which also has the capability of detecting Ebola virus and other tropical infections could be useful in countries that are now affected by the present Ebola epidemic. Ability for rapid diagnosis is a problem in many poor countries and places that do not have advanced health care systems.