A rapid test at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) for the detection of smallpox in monkeys is in the final phase of the study, according to researcher Paulo Felipe Estrela.
In an interview with CNN Radio he explained that an alternative testing technique, LAMP, is used, which is a “faster and cheaper” reaction than the gold standard of testing for the disease, PCR.
“We mix with reagents and after a period of 40 minutes the result appears”, he said.
If the sample turns pink, the patient tested negative, if it turns yellow, he has monkeypox.
The researcher points out that there is an interval of less than an hour between the collection and the result.
However, this molecular test for monkeypox is laboratory and cannot be applied by the patient himself, as with the self-test for Covid-19.
“We want to simplify the process, as what is done is unavailable due to recent demand in the face of the disease outbreak,” said Neves.
The cost of national reagents, according to him, is 3 reais. “Obviously this will not be the cost that will reach the population, since professionals and sample collection are needed, but we estimate that the value is much more affordable.”
The technology developed by the university uses a swab – similar to the test for Covid – on the skin lesions, which have the highest amount of monkeypox virus.
*With production by Bruna Sales
Source: CNN Brasil
