Potential new way to detect COVID infection is 99.9% accurate

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Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Observational study: A study in which the subject is observed to see if there is a relationship between two or more things (eg: the consumption of diet drinks and obesity). Observational studies cannot prove that one thing causes another, only that they are linked.

Cells: This is a study based on research in micro-organisms, cells, tissue, organs or non-human embryos.

Australian researchers have developed a new way to potentially detect COVID-19 infections that has shown itself to be 99.9 per cent accurate. The new approach involves looking for tiny molecules, known as microRNA, in the bloodstream. MicroRNA helps cells control the kinds and amounts of proteins they make. The types of MicroRNAs in the body are changed by COVID-19 infection. The study looked at the microRNA profiles in the plasma of ten COVID-19 patients and ten healthy donors. They found that by measuring three microRNAs they could identify early-stage COVID-19 with 99.9 per cent accuracy. The authors say these findings suggest that microRNA profiling may be adopted to improve COVID-19 detection and patient management.

Journal/conference: PLOS Pathogens

Link to research (DOI): 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009759

Organisation/s: CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University

Funder: This work was supported by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (www.csiro.au) (C.R.S., grant number N/A). We acknowledge funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) (https://cepi.net/) (S.S.V., grant number N/A) for supporting ferret COVID-19 studies. S.S.V. is grateful for support from Australian Department of Finance (grant number N/A) and CSIRO Future Science Platforms (grant number N/A). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

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