Warning To Pregnant Women.+ Germany Produces First Zika Test.

This warning also applies to all Nigerian women travelling....

First Zika test developed in Germany

For pregnant women especially, the question of whether they caught the Zika virus is of high importance. Thanks to German researchers, getting a definitive answer is now possible for the first time.

Only one in five people infected with the Zika virus will get sick. That's a blessing and a curse at the same time, especially for pregnant women or those who plan on getting pregnant in the near future. They have to wonder whether their bodies could be affected by the virus.

Biotechnology company Genekam from the western German town of Duisburg has come up with a solution to this problem. Researchers there have developed a test that reveals whether there are Zika pathogens in a blood sample, and how many.

The test works in real time, which means it brings quick results, and is the first of its kind for Zika. Until now, patients could not be diagnosed until or unless they developed symptoms.

"Our test examines DNA and works with chemicals that react to the Zika virus only," Sudhir Bhartia, one of the test's co-developers, told DW. "Similar pathogens like Dengue fever won't show up in the results."

The first delivery of kits is already on its way to Brazil. Usually, tests like these have to go through a long testing phase themselves before they're authorized. But because the virus is spreading through South America so quickly, authorities have made an exception.

A general practitioner, however, will not be able to use the kit to examine patients.

"The test must only be used by qualified personnel so that mistakes can be avoided," Bhartia, a virologist, stressed.

That's why the mini labs are only sent to institutes and laboratories with sufficient know-how and the right equipment. At least the costs are low. They amount to roughly 5 euros each time the test is used.

For tourists returning home after a vacation in South America, there's another, simpler way to find out as well: wait. Of course, that takes longer.

"If you show no symptoms three weeks after you return, they're not going to manifest anymore," Christian Drosten from the Society for Virology told DW. "And two weeks after that, the virus will no longer be present in your body."

culled - m.dw.com