Now, blood test will predict survival outcome in patients suffering from Ebola virus

New Delhi: Scientists claim to have identified a 'molecular barcode' in the blood of Ebola patients which can detect their survival outcome.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK and Boston University in the US used blood samples taken from infected and recovering patients during the 2013-2016 West Africa outbreak to identify gene products that act as strong predictors of patient outcome.

The new research provides data on the underlying causes of Ebola virus infection and suggests that this type of blood analysis could be integrated into future outbreak responses as a diagnostic tool to help guide treatment strategies.

Since the Ebola outbreak in West Africa much research has been done to further understand the biology of the Ebola virus.

In particular, the processes that lead to survival or a fatal infection are unknown, although the amount of virus present in the body (viral load) can be a key determinant.

However, while this premise worked well for predicting outcomes for people with extreme viral loads, it was less clear for people with mid-range counts, the majority of cases, where the outcome prediction was approximately equal between survival and a fatal infection.

The results of this new study identified a small number of genes whose expression accurately predicts patient survival, independent of viral load.

(With PTI inputs)