NEW YORK — A urine-based test for Zika virus infection has shown to be more effective than the common blood-based one for many patients, a development that could make testing for the infection easier.
The test could potentially aid efforts to control Zika, which is mainly carried by mosquitoes, as it is expected to spread further into North America in the coming months.
“The timing is excellent,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new testing guidance Tuesday, saying the virus particles can be detected at higher levels and for a longer period of time in urine than in blood.
The new guidance will make it easier to test more people for the virus. Until this week, CDC officials have said the best way to detect Zika virus is to test their blood. The test in urine did a good job detecting the virus for two weeks after the onset of symptoms. The test in blood does a good job only for about one week.
That’s an important development, Schaffner said.
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