We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
ZeptoMetrix an Antylia scientific company

Download Mobile App




New Scientific Method Halves Polio Detection Time

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 23 Aug 2023
Print article
Image: The time to detect polio can be halved using the DDNS technique (Photo courtesy of Freepik)
Image: The time to detect polio can be halved using the DDNS technique (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Polio, an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, spreads mainly through contact with contaminated food and water due to infected feces. While some individuals remain asymptomatic, polio can be particularly severe for infants and children under five, resulting in permanent paralysis or even death. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes delayed detection as a significant hurdle in their 2022-2026 plan to eradicate polio. Presently, nations with active polio outbreaks ship stool samples worldwide for lengthy, complex lab tests, leading to time-consuming confirmation of results. Detecting polio more swiftly in outbreak regions can allow authorities to respond promptly with focused vaccination efforts, curbing the spread of the virus. Now, a novel technique that has been shown to halve the time to detect polio could support global efforts to eradicate the infectious disease and help save lives.

Collaborative research supported by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) demonstrated the efficacy of the Direct Molecular Detection and Nanopore Sequencing (DDNS) technique in detecting polio outbreaks. DDNS not only preserves valuable time but also reduces costs for public health bodies. This marks the first application of such a scientific technique for polio detection, building on its use in identifying COVID-19, Ebola, measles, and monkeypox. By enabling in-country testing instead of shipping samples abroad for specialized lab assessments, transport and testing delays shrink from an average of 42 days to 19 days. The research, conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over six months, exhibited DDNS tests to be approximately 23 days quicker than the standard method, boasting over 99% accuracy.

“We are standing at a delicate and pivotal moment for the eradication of polio. While vaccination programs have seen polio disappear in many countries, the delayed detection of outbreaks poses a major threat to those efforts,” said Javier Martin, Principal Scientist in Virology at the MHRA. “By implementing detection methods such as DDNS, we can identify where outbreaks are and which polio strain is present much more quickly, allowing us to act at the earliest opportunity.”

“This method allows the rapid confirmation of polio strains, facilitating swifter vaccine responses that can reduce the number of polio cases stemming from an outbreak,” said Dr. Alex Shaw, Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. “The sequencing technology used in this method is easily adapted for the detection and typing of other organisms. This rollout will therefore provide a foundation of skills and experience that can be redirected to the genomic surveillance of other pathogens as needed.”

Related Links:
MHRA 

Gold Member
Pharmacogenetics Panel
VeriDose Core Panel v2.0
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Amoebiasis Test
ELI.H.A Amoeba
New
Chagas Disease Test
LIAISON Chagas

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The GlycoLocate platform uses multi-omics and advanced computational biology algorithms to diagnose early-stage cancers (Photo courtesy of AOA Dx)

AI-Powered Blood Test Accurately Detects Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, largely due to late-stage diagnoses. Although over 90% of women exhibit symptoms in Stage I, only 20% are diagnosed in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The new algorithms can help predict which patients have undiagnosed cancer (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Advanced Predictive Algorithms Identify Patients Having Undiagnosed Cancer

Two newly developed advanced predictive algorithms leverage a person’s health conditions and basic blood test results to accurately predict the likelihood of having an undiagnosed cancer, including ch... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.