Chinese Scientists Develop 15-minute Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Test

Chinese scientists have developed a diagnostic reagent that can complete a test for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in just 15 minutes.

Research on the reagent began in late 2014. The reagent was put together by Hong Kong and Xiamen universities and will be used in virus screening if the disease ever breaks out in China.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) - Causes Symptoms Treatment Prevention
MERS, a newly discovered respiratory disease, was recently reported in the Arabian region. MERS is caused by a virus similar to that causing common cold and other respiratory illnesses.

The reagent employs antigen diagnostics, which are easier to use than traditional nucleic acid diagnostics.

"The antigen diagnostics are much easier to work with. In contrast, nucleic acid diagnostics involve extracting RNA, which is time consuming and requires experienced technicians and specialized equipment," said Zhang Jun, an infectious disease expert at Xiamen University.

The new reagent is efficient and can be used for a large number of tests. A single technician can process over 1,000 samples a day.

South Korea Reports 3 More MERS Deaths, Total Death Toll is 19
In what has become the largest outbreak of the MERS virus outside Saudi Arabia, South Korea has reported 154 confirmed cases, with 17 cured and 19 fatalities.

First identified in 2012, MERS has recently reappeared in the Republic of Korea. At least 24 people have died and 166 infections have been detected there as of June 19.

The scientists' findings were first published in April in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections.

South Korean Man Suspected to Have MERS Has Been Hospitalized in Slovakia
A South Korean man thought to have contracted the potentially deadly MERS virus was hospitalized in the Slovak capital Bratislava on June 13, 2015.

Source-IANS

North Korea Claims to Have Developed a Cure for MERS, Ebola, AIDS, SARS
Developed by North Korea's Pugang Pharmaceutic Company, the drug is known as Kumdang-2, and is made of extracts from ginseng with the injection of rare earth elements.