Ebola testing?

[Sharky]

Does anyone know what type of testing is being done for Ebola during this outbreak?

From reports I've read, some regional facilities in West Africa seem to have some sort of quick test. However, I've also read that the only definitive test is done at the CDC.

Are they looking at antibodies in the field, and RNA sequencing at the CDC? Or what?

How long do the tests take to run? I've read reports ranging from a few hours to a few weeks.

If they're looking at antibodies, how can they tell when someone is well enough that they are no longer infectious?

Any data about test accuracy rates?

A related question is far along in the infectious process does a patient need to be before they will test positive? Do they need to have symptoms and be actively shedding virus, or is it detectable before then?

Links to references would be appreciated, if you know of any good ones.

 

[Sharky]

Re: Ebola testing?

Answering my own question (partly):

"The major way one would diagnose Ebola virus disease is through a process called PCR or polymerase chain reaction, where you take the patient?s blood, put it in a machine and it tells you in a few hours if the nuclear material from the Ebola virus is present. CDC is doing that for patients coming back from infected areas where virus is a potential. There are a number of labs, both local and courtesy of CDC, that are doing this testing in west Africa, and my sense is it?s not that difficult to get it done."

From: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ebola-doctor-reveals-how-infected-americans-were-cured/