University of the Sunshine Coast
A University of the Sunshine Coast researcher who has helped develop a simple dipstick test to screen for the highly infectious Nipah virus says rapid detection is critical to controlling deadly outbreaks.
In India, health officials are racing to contain a deadly outbreak of the virus, which is transmitted by fruit bats to humans and pigs. Severe symptoms can include confusion, seizures, coma, severe respiratory distress and encephalitis. It is fatal in 40 to 75 percent of cases.
UniSC Associate Professor of Molecular Engineering Dr Joanne Macdonald and postdoctoral researcher Dr Nina Pollak from UniSC’s Centre for Bioinnovation worked with CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness on the research into the Nipah virus.
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