Zika IgG/IgM is a diagnosis tool that will help to quickly and easily test for Zika virus infections.
A new diagnosis tool for the Zika virus has been developed that can diagnose and analyze a virus infection just as quickly and conveniently as using a pregnancy test.
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced on June 2 that a new, convenient Zika diagnosis test kit had been developed jointly by Zenbody and a research team under the ministry.
With one or two drops of blood, a tester can learn whether they are Zika-infected or not in about 20 minutes, making it just as convenient as a standard pregnancy test. The current range of Zika diagnosis tests require medical facilities and an expert to analyze the results, and it takes a minimum of a few hours.
The ministry said that this new test kit is “easy to use, doesn’t take hours of time to diagnose Zika and doesn’t even require some expensive facilities for diagnosis.” The government and its research team expect that a “quick and easy diagnosis with this test kit will help manage and prevent spread of the virus.”
The test kit, having received permission from the Brazilian government, is now for sale in Brazil, said Zenbody. The test kits are being distributed by BahiaFarma, Brazil’s public pharmaceutical company.
The Zika virus has spread quickly in Central and South America, including in Brazil, and has raised world-wide concern due to the possibility of pregnant women giving births to babies with microcephaly.
By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
icchang@korea.kr
