New test detects COVID accurately, within hours of infection

[bennevisplace]

simonsfoundation.org/2023/0...

SNIP, with my emphasis \\

Most existing COVID-19 tests “rely on the same principle, which is that you have accumulated a detectable amount of viral material, for example, in your nose,” says study lead author Frank Zhang, who worked on the project as a Flatiron research fellow at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Biology (CCB) in New York City. “That poses a challenge when it’s early in the infection time window and you haven’t accumulated a lot of viral material, or you’re asymptomatic.”

The new technique is instead based on how our bodies mount an immune response when invaded by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. When the assault starts, specific genes turn on. Segments of those genes produce mRNA molecules that guide the building of proteins. The particular blend of those mRNA molecules changes the types of proteins produced, including proteins involved in virus-fighting functions. The new method can confidently identify when the body is mounting an immune response to the COVID-19 virus by measuring the relative abundance of the various mRNA molecules. The new study is the first to use such an approach to diagnose an infectious disease.

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When put to the test using real-world blood samples, the new method yielded an impressive 98.4 percent accuracy rating. That’s especially impressive as the approach works just as well on asymptomatic patients, for whom rapid antigen tests can be less than 60 percent accurate.

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The new approach isn’t ready for prime time yet, Zhang says. He and his colleagues only tested blood samples rather than the nasal samples that are more common and convenient for diagnosing COVID-19. Also, they need to make sure they can distinguish between the body’s reaction to COVID-19 and its response to infections caused by other viruses, such as colds.

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Not ready yet, but if this approach can adapt to a more workable format i.e. nasal swabs (finger prick blood samples?) it would provide the means to detect many more potential COVID spreaders than has been possible with current testing methods. And presumably the same technique could be used in the management of viral outbreaks in the future.

[CLLerinOz Administrator Volunteer]

I like the sound of 'near-perfect accuracy' and 'within hours of infection'. As you say, it still needs to be translated into a more workable format but it sounds promising.

Caltech research conducted in the laboratory of Niles Pierce is looking at better ways to detect the virus using a rapid home test by utilizing "a technology called hybridization chain reaction (HCR), which boosts the signal of the reporter molecules. With the new test, every viral protein captured then grows a long tail of DNA. This DNA does not encode for anything biological but rather acts as a specially designed scaffold upon which many colorful reporter molecules can attach. In this way, each viral particle emits a much “brighter” signal. In a skillful engineering process, the team designed the amplified test so that each step occurs sequentially in a disposable device about the size of a playing card without user intervention."

There's more information about it here: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

It's encouraging to see the progress that's being made with testing methods.

[bennevisplace in reply to CLLerinOz]

Thanks for that Oz. In the wide ranging post you referenced I"m afraid I couldn't locate the bit about the Caltech research, which I would like to read.

[CLLerinOz Administrator Volunteer in reply to bennevisplace]

I thought the URL I provided would have taken you to the reply in that post that included the links to the Caltech research but, as that doesn't seem to have worked, here are the direct links:

caltech.edu/about/news/at-h...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ac...

😀 CLLerinOz

[bennevisplace in reply to CLLerinOz]

Thanks! This technology is virtually there, apart from a tweak or two and scaling up. Very promising.

[Fran57]

Sounds promising!

Thank you, Fran 😉