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Required Ebola Testing Time

C

Chris

Member
In this article:

http://monroviainquirer.com/2014/10/13/more-empty-beds-at-bong-county-etu/

It's stated that:

The ETU is being run by International Medical Corps, a non- governmental organization and the team?s director for Liberia Ebola Emergency Response, Sean Casey stressed that test results to come in after 3 or 5 days now takes 3 to 4 hours and patients are informed if they are positive or negative.
Click to expand...

3 or 4 hours? Is this scientifically true?
 
Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

China sent a highly qualified testing staff & lab recently. Perhaps they are responsible for the improved turnaround time.

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Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

OK. How come it takes so long to test all of these "case" in US and Canada? It would seem if this technology is available we could deploy it here and save time and money finding real cases from phoney ones.

I was always under the impression that even with CDC level testing it took a day.

Obviously I'm missing something, but what?
 
Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Cuban Doctors at the Forefront of Ebola Battle in Africa

......Africa?s biggest trading partner, China, has said it would provide $1 million in cash, $2 million in food and specialists each to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The Asian giant is also sending 170 medical workers to Liberia, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Currently, 58 Chinese are staffing an Ebola-treatment ward and blood-testing lab off the side of a Chinese-built clinic. Of these, 35 are drivers, handymen and chefs, said Guo Tongshing, the clinic?s chief doctor......

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When a blood-testing lab is on the side of a clinic, imagine how quick they get results!

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Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

In US & other countries, I assume if travel history and symptoms, they confirm a negative test with more testing, hours later.

Philips machine that takes seconds to test expected to roll out within weeks. Possible they are using now?

"According to Mr. Ties Kroezen the new testing equipment which will take seconds to diagnose Ebola, will be rolled in out in a matter of weeks. "It is expected that when this machine comes into use, it will take seconds to diagnose cases of Ebola," Kroezen told Woods. The Ebola diagnostic device discussed is awaiting approval by WHO for deployment. When approved, WHO will take responsibility for local distribution, according to Woods."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201410131918.html
 
Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

Re: Required Ebola Ebola Testing Time

I assume ebola tests require a BSL_4 lab. How many are there? Transportation would account for delay.

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Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

In some places, at least, couriers have refused to transport samples. That obviously doesn't help with turnaround times. But even with prompt transport, a day is probably reasonable if a sample has to be sent away.
 
Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

Testing time definitely needs to be reduced. Essentially someone presenting with flu-like symptoms with a connection to recent travel to West Africa and the response in terms of costs are dramatically increased. And those costs continue for each hour.

Estimates approach $100,000 per patient

Analysts at Lockton recently estimated that hospital care for a typical U.S. patient with Ebola might cost more than $100,000 per case.

http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2014/10/08/ebola-care-costs-could-exceed-100000-per-patient
 
Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

Here's an interesting article with some information about testing--current and on the horizon.

http://wgno.com/2014/10/13/tulane-doctor-developing-new-test-for-ebola-thats-quick-safer/

[...]
?The current test requires that you take a tube of blood from a person?s arm, first of all that?s a risk for the person drawing the blood. What our test allows you to do is just use a finger prick; very safe device, small drop of blood, you can put a band aid over it. You don?t have to expose the person drawing the blood to the risk of a needle or a needle stick. Then you take that small drop of blood, put it on this device, 15 minutes later you have a result,? explains Dr. Garry.

As of now a patient with signs of Ebola would have to wait 24 to 72 hours for results.
[...]
 
Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

While blood might be the best source, would something less invasive do - in the early phases? Spit, sweat, ??? Or does the replication show only in blood.

How about testing for elevated levels of various immune system markers? If they weren't elevated could it be assumed the body was "only" fighting flu? Is there some sort of "process of elimination" test that could be done quickly and economically?

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Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

nola_mnr said:
Here's an interesting article with some information about testing--current and on the horizon.

http://wgno.com/2014/10/13/tulane-doctor-developing-new-test-for-ebola-thats-quick-safer/

[...]
“The current test requires that you take a tube of blood from a person’s arm, first of all that’s a risk for the person drawing the blood. What our test allows you to do is just use a finger prick; very safe device, small drop of blood, you can put a band aid over it. You don’t have to expose the person drawing the blood to the risk of a needle or a needle stick. Then you take that small drop of blood, put it on this device, 15 minutes later you have a result,” explains Dr. Garry.

As of now a patient with signs of Ebola would have to wait 24 to 72 hours for results.
[...]
Click to expand...

more from that article:

Dr. Garry says the tests would be used in West Africa to diagnose patients quickly, but they could also be useful in the United States at airports and hospitals. He says his team is doing field tests now, and if all works well he hopes to deploy them for mass use within a month.
Click to expand...

Dr. Garry says they’re also looking into how soon the new test could detect Ebola. Right now someone isn’t contagious until they’re exhibiting symptoms, so if this test can determine whether someone has Ebola when they’re practically symptom free it could help keep that person from infecting others.
Click to expand...

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Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

Would these rapid tests be able to tell you if your infected even if you are not symptomatic? (Like a couple of days after exposure)

I think that might be the most useful thing. The ability to quarantine before symptoms appear. It could actually make a difference.
 
Re: Required Ebola Testing Time

Hi

What I know, is in Quebec, Canada, we are able to do a PCR in 3 to 4 hours but it is not a definite answers as we have to wait for the lab in Winnipeg. In Winnipeg, they do virus isolation, IgG and IgM detection and moleculaire detection. If the prelevement is negative and has been taking in the 3 days after the symptom appeared, is has to be repeteated.
 
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Re: WHO finds rapid negatives "impossible" and "alarming"

Re: WHO finds rapid negatives "impossible" and "alarming"

WHO recommendations for testing for Ebola virus disease and confirming a case

WHO is alarmed by media reports of suspected Ebola cases imported into new countries that are said, by government officials or ministries of health, to be discarded as ?negative? within hours after the suspected case enters the country.

Such rapid determination of infection status is impossible, casting grave doubts on some of the official information that is being communicated to the public and the media.

For early detection of Ebola virus in suspected or probable cases, detection of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) or viral antigen are the recommended tests.
Laboratory-confirmed cases must test positive for the presence of the Ebola virus, either by detection of viral RNA by RT-PCR, and/or by detection of Ebola antigen by a specific Antigen detection test, and/or by detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies directed against Ebola.
Two negative RT-PCR test results, at least 48 hours apart, are required for a clinically asymptomatic patient to be discharged from hospital, or for a suspected Ebola case to be discarded as testing negative for the virus.
Laboratory results should be communicated to WHO as quickly as possible, in addition to reporting under the requirements and within the timelines set out in the International Health Regulations, which are administered by WHO.
Note

WHO recommends that the first 25 positive cases and 50 negative specimens detected by a country without a recognized national reference viral haemorrhagic fever laboratory should be sent for secondary confirmatory testing to a WHO collaborating centre, designed as specialized in the safe detection (at biosafety level IV) of viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Similarly, for countries with a national reference laboratory for viral haemorrhagic fevers, the initial positive cases should also be sent to a WHO collaborating centre for confirmation.

If results are concordant, laboratory results reported from the national reference laboratory would be accepted by WHO.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/14-october-2014/en/
 
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