Recent advances in the development and evaluation of molecular diagnostics for Ebola virus disease.

Recent advances in the development and evaluation of molecular diagnostics for Ebola virus disease. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2019 Mar 27;: Authors: Tembo J, Simulundu E, Changula K, Handley D, Gilbert M, Chilufya M, Asogun D, Ansumana R, Kapata N, Ntoumi F, Ippolito G, Zumla A, Bates M Abstract INTRODUCTION: Viruses from the family Filoviridae can cause viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), including Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Marburg virus disease (MVD). The 2014-16 outbreak of EVD in West Africa resulted in 11,308 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 39.5%. During the outbreak, only 60% of patients were laboratory confirmed and global health authorities have identified the need for accurate and readily deployable molecular diagnostics as an important component of the ideal response to future outbreaks, to quickly identify and isolate patients. Areas covered: Following the outbreak in West Africa, various molecular diagnostic assays to detect EVD have been developed, to detect genes, proteins/antigens and antibodies associated with the infection. Currently PCR based techniques and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that detect antigens specific to EVD infections dominate but recent advances in biosensor technologies have led to novel approaches for the development of EVD diagnostics. This review summarises the literature and available performance data of currently available molecular diagnostics for ebolavirus, identifies knowledge g...
Source: Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics - Category: Laboratory Medicine Tags: Expert Rev Mol Diagn Source Type: research