Charles Chiu, MD, PhD, director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center at the University of California San Francisco, led a team of researchers to develop a new testing method capable of detecting co-infections.
By using a metagenomics laboratory test that essentially serves as a genetic fingerprint database, Dr. Chiu and his team were able to identify two cases of chikungunya/Zika co-infection among fifteen samples of previously confirmed Zika cases from Brazil. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
“With these viruses, the symptoms associated with acute illness, including fever, rash, joint pains and conjunctivitis, are non-specific, so it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis based on clinical findings alone,” said Dr. Chiu. “It’s easy to imagine a physician failing to detect Zika when they instead suspect a different virus that causes similar symptoms, and then their suspicion is confirmed by a diagnostic test designed to detect only that virus — they might easily miss a co-infection if they do not test for more than one virus.”
More articles on the Zika virus:
‘It’s too late. Mosquito season is here’: Houston health official expresses ire over stalled Zika funds
320 pregnant women in US infected with Zika
Sanofi, U.S. Army partner to speed up Zika vaccine development
Becker’s 3rd Annual Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit is the top tier event that the people leading the future of pharmacy convene. This 3-day event is built specifically for Chief Pharmacy Officers and senior pharmacy leaders. The sessions examine the workforce, financial and clinical priorities shaping pharmacy today. Becker’s is where candid discussions flourish and new ideas thrive. Becker's 3rd Annual Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit
