West Nile Virus Diagnosis

Researchers at several institutions are working to develop simple devices for rapid, point-of-care diagnosis of arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses), including West Nile Virus (WNV). NIAID-funded scientists are also working to develop rapid diagnostics to detect multiple viruses known to cause hemorrhagic fevers and encephalitis. It is hoped that the different approaches being investigated will lead to cost-effective, rapid diagnostics that could eventually be performed in physician’s offices or even at home, so that treatments could be administered very early in infection to reduce severity of disease.