U.S. Army scientists have devised a new means of spotting deadly plague bacteria through the use of viruses that depend on the potential bioterrorism agent to replicate, says a report published Monday by the Public Library of Science (see GSN, April 20, 2007).
The detection method, developed at the Walter Reed Institute of Research in Maryland, involves monitoring the rate at which two different viruses propagate, according to the report. The use of separate virus types improves the test's accuracy, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy quotes the article as stating.
The test can determine the presence of live plague bacteria within four hours. Present systems can provide results in a similar time frame, but they involve an additional step and cannot differentiate active plague agent from bacteria that is dormant or dead, the report says (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy release, June 30).
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100701_3173.php
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