I doubt it Jim. Air travel is a germ incubator all by itself.
We have been talking about this extensively on the Rat thread since it started...
In the lab, progress is being made in identifying the cause of SARS. Some say we could know in days.
Scientists are also close to developing a diagnostic test. Still, Kaledin reports, breakthroughs can't come rapidly enough to stop this rapid-fire health threat.
I own a 15 cent stock that has an applicable test technology in the works for this type virus, but they are too stupid to promote it.
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Oct 29, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Xtrana, Inc. (XTRN) announced today that it has been awarded $986,051 over the next three years from the National Institutes of Health ("NIH") to develop a nucleic acid-based, microfluidic device to detect a panel of respiratory viruses from a single patient sample. Xtrana will collaborate with Micronics, Inc ("Micronics") of Redmond, Washington, for lab card and integrated device development, and The Children's Hospital in Denver for clinical specimens and medical expertise.
The device to be developed is intended to allow physicians, within the course of a typical office visit, to easily and accurately identify a virus present within a patient sample, thereby allowing more effective and rapid treatment.
The NIH estimates that there are more than one billion respiratory infections -- often referred to as the common cold -- annually. In the United States alone, there are 51 million office visits and 18 to 20 million antibiotic prescriptions written annually for patients suffering respiratory infection symptoms in spite of the fact that antibiotics usually are ineffective in treating viral disease. This practice has directly contributed to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Recent investigations confirm that early detection and treatment of viral respiratory infections can reduce symptoms, hospital admissions due to complications such as asthma or pneumonia, and progression to secondary bacterial infections, while significantly reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics.
Xtrana's proprietary Self-Contained Integrated Particle ("SCIP") strategy and unique nucleic acid sample preparation and assay chemistries expertise is ideally suited for this application. Xtrana has entered into a licensing and manufacturing agreement with Micronics to integrate the SCIP chemistries onto a microfluidic card platform.
Using Micronics' patented microfluidics and microplumbing technology, it is intended that all steps of the assay would be performed within a disposable credit-card-sized device. The patient sample would be placed in the card, and the card would then be inserted into an instrument in the physician's office that includes the software, heating, and pumps necessary for automated diagnosis.
Xtrana will also work directly with the Microbiology and Molecular Biology Diagnostic Laboratories and the Department of Infectious Disease of The Children's Hospital in Denver for product evaluation. The Children's Hospital is a primary center for research, diagnosis, and treatment of respiratory viral diseases, and works closely with a broad network of physicians.
"This partnership with the NIH verifies the potential value of Xtrana's innovative technologies in current and future nucleic acid-based diagnostics," said Tim Dahltorp, Xtrana's CEO. "Compact, versatile, point-of-care diagnostic systems for accurate identification of respiratory viruses could significantly improve healthcare. Xtrana has been working with Micronics for the last six months on the development of single target SCIP platforms, and expects to have working prototypes available by the end of this year. This multi-target application is a logical extension of these prototypes. We believe that Xtrana's expertise in sample preparation combined with Micronics' microfluidic lab card technology and the clinical guidance of The Children's Hospital will significantly enhance our efforts to develop this application
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