Primerdesign Ltd, a spin-off company from the University of Southampton, has developed a qPCR test for screening suspected Ebola patients in the current outbreak.

The kit detects the DNA finger print of the Ebola Virus. It means that even minute quantities of the disease can be detected in the early stages allowing for pre-emptive healthcare intervention. The qPCR assay is performed on blood samples taken from patients with results available within 90 minutes.

Primerdesign Ltd, has finished development work in the last few days and is meeting with the World Health Organisation to discuss plans to possibly put large numbers of these tests in to the front line in West Africa as quickly as possible.