A New Device to Detect Zika

Early detection of Zika is an obvious contribution to the reduction of the spread of the virus. A new device based on the technology developed to detect HIV may be able to do this. As there is no current vaccine for the virus, detection via a simple saliva test in places where transmission is a high risk, could hold the key. Here’s an article with some more information

Device Will Rapidly, Accurately and Inexpensively Detect Zika Virus at Airports and Other Sites

About the size of a tablet, a portable device that could be used in a host of environments like a busy airport or even a remote location in South America, may hold the key to detecting the dreaded Zika virus accurately, rapidly and inexpensively using just a saliva sample. While scientists across the world are scrambling to find some sort of immunization, researchers from Florida Atlantic University are working to develop a diagnostic tool to reduce the impact of the outbreak until a vaccine is identified.

This mosquito borne disease was initially thought to be spread by the aedes aegypti species.

There are however, many more species of this disease spreading pest that are capable of carrying the virus.

Zika may be spread by up to 35 species of mosquitoes, researchers say

Zika may be spread by as many as 35 species of mosquitoes, including seven found in the United States, according to a forecasting model created by University of Georgia ecologists and published Tuesday in the journal eLife. Most scientists, including those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, believe Zika is primarily spread through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus species of mosquito, both of which are prevalent in Florida.

With the warmer months arriving and mosquitoes will be starting to make an unwanted appearance, have you got your mosquito control in hand?