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A new test will easily detect any virus
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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In the world's leading scientific center, a group of microbiologists has created a unique method for detecting any virus, both in humans and animals, and the ultra-sensitive test detects even those microorganisms whose levels are extremely low. It is worth noting that modern tests do not show the presence of viruses if their level is below a specified level or they are "tuned" only to a certain strain of viruses.
In the laboratory, usually during a blood test or other biological examination, they look for traces of a specific virus that could have caused the characteristic symptoms in the patient.
According to microbiologists from Washington, the new test effectively identifies all microorganisms present in samples and is a kind of "trap" for viruses. The lead author of the study noted that their development frees lab technicians from the need to select a test to search for a specific virus, while it will be possible to assume the development of a particular disease even at an early stage, when the concentration of viruses in the blood is extremely low. According to scientists, this approach to laboratory research will help in severe cases when it is impossible to establish the cause of the disease with standard diagnostics.
The medical school staff who developed the unique test noted that its sensitivity is on par with a method that allows for increasing small concentrations of DNA fragments in a biological sample (a method known in science as PCR).
But even the most effective PCR methods today can detect no more than 20 types of viruses that do not differ significantly from each other.
One of the authors of the scientific project, Todd Wiley, noted that the test has an extremely high sensitivity, which allows it to distinguish even genetically similar microorganisms. Traditional methods of detecting viruses often do not distinguish genetically similar viruses, which complicates the process of laboratory analysis (one test does not allow one to identify all variants of viruses).
The unique test is quite promising, but before it becomes available in all laboratories, several years of research and testing will be required, but already today virologists are warning about the deadly danger posed by the H2N2 flu virus.
Experts note that viruses are characterized by cyclicity, i.e. a certain repetition after a certain period of time.
In most cases, viruses reactivate 60 years after the first outbreak.
Experts are confident that the spread of the deadly infection will begin in China as early as 2017. This type of virus first appeared in Asian countries in the late 1950s, and according to some data, up to 4 million people died from the flu at that time.
Experts suggest that the outbreak of the virus in China will occur due to the large number of birds and pigs in this country, which are the main carriers of dangerous infections.
According to doctors, vaccination will be enough to prevent the epidemic (on average, such measures will take several months), but all medical centers without exception must ensure that they have everything necessary to provide assistance to all those in need and stop the spread of infection.
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