Australian researchers have reportedly developed a new potential way to detect Covid-19 infection.
The new approach is said to have shown to be 99.9% accurate and involves looking for tiny molecules, known as microRNA, in the bloodstream.
MicroRNA reportedly helps cells control the kinds and amounts of protein they make, and the types of MicroRNAs in the body are said to be changed by Covid-19 infection.
The observational study looked at the microRNA profiles in the plasma of 10 Covid-19 patients and 10 healthy donors, with researchers reportedly finding that by measuring three microRNAs they could identify early-stage Covid-19 with 99.9% accuracy.
The authors say these findings suggest that microRNA profiling may be adopted to improve Covid-19 detection and patient management.
For more information and to read the study published in PLOS Pathogens, visit: journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1009759
