Breakthrough by Columbia University researchers.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Researchers at Columbia University have developed a new DNA-based blood test that can trace the history of viruses that have infected the body of the patients and help in early detection of diseases such as cancer and Hepatitis C.
According to a report that appeared in The Washington Post, all scientists need is a drop of blood and the test called VisScan can scrutinize the sample for the existence of antibodies that neutralize more than 206 species of viruses known to infect humans.
According to researchers, the antibody created by the immune system of the body to neutralize a virus will continue to be produced years after the patient is cured of the infection.
VirScan can detect every single antibody produced by the patient’s immune system and use them as a blueprint that can disclose the kind of viruses patient’s body has encountered in the past years. Current tests can only detect a single suspected virus and this new development is a big leap in the diagnosis of virus attack.
Researcher Ian Lipkin was quoted by The Washington Post saying the new diagnostic tool is accurate and totally technology managed. He also added that VirScan has the potential to even reveal viruses that infected the patient recently or many years back.
Scientists have found that an average of 10 viruses out of the known 206 affects a normal human and in some cases the number could even double that number.
Stephen Elledge, who headed the study, said that many people are infected with the different variants of the same virus over the course of their life and this will be registered by VirScan as a single attack.
Elledge also said that VirScan analysis can be done on a patient for a minimum cost of $25 per blood sample. He also shared the possibility of the labs charging more from the patients when the technology becomes commercially available. He added that the current technology used in VirScan can take two to three days to process and sequence about 100 samples.
As the technology improves over the years, the speed at which VirScan can process blood samples will also increase, he added.