Clinical lab speeds detection of measles, other infections
As U.S. measles cases spike, UW Medicine deploys high-volume diagnostics to process samples from across the nation.Media Contact: Susan Gregg - sghanson@uw.edu, 206-390-3226
Just days ago, new measles cases in in the United States rose to a number not seen since 1991. At UW Medicine in Seattle, new technology is speeding the identification of measles and other highly infectious illnesses. The lab medicine and pathology team recently brought online automated instruments that accelerate the diagnostic testing of patient samples sent from across the country.
“The sample, from the time we receive it to when we can result it, is probably about three and a half to four hours, which is very quick,” said Dr. Alex Greninger, head of the Division of Infectious Disease Diagnostics.
Faster turnaround times are especially critical for highly infectious diseases such as measles, in which every hour matters in limiting spread.
“The nature of infectious diseases is that my result affects you (and) your result affects me,” Greninger said.
The new automated instruments allow clinicians to run tests more efficiently. Lab technicians, who also process samples of respiratory viruses and sexually transmitted infections, can conduct diagnostics on one sample or high-volume batches on the same automated platform.
“It really allows us to offer much cheaper, extraordinarily sensitive testing that we haven't been able to do before. You can test one sample, you can test 100 samples,” Greninger said.
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