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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

India - DRDO kit detects H1N1 virus in an hour

Via The Hindu, I'm happy to see and know and we have efficient and cost effective ways to detect H1N1 viruses. This would be very helpful expecially for countries who having a tough time fighting this disease.

" The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a diagnostic kit that can detect H1N1 virus in an hour. The kit does not need sophisticated instruments and can be used in villages where electricity is not available. It just costs Rs.1,500.

It uses a simple technique called real-time loop amplification methodology (RT LAMP) to detect the H1N1 virus, said W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (Life Sciences and Human Resources), DRDO. The kit has been developed by a DRDO laboratory called the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), situated at Gwalior.

When 400 blood samples were tested by the WHO (Communicable Diseases Centre)-approved kit and the DRDO-developed kit, positive results from both kits tallied. “There was 100 per cent agreement. The DRDO kit also diagnosed some cases missed out by the WHO (CDC)-approved kit. So our kit is more specific and sensitive. That is its strength,” Dr. Selvamurthy said."

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