307: rapid test for avian flu could save lives

Good news in the battle against avian flu today, as reported by the BBC. Apparently, scientists in Nottingham, UK, have developed a rapid diagnostic kit - a portable testing machine - that could identify whether a patient is carrying H5N1 or another bird flu virus using a saliva sample. Rapid diagnosis greatly increases the chances of treating a patient successfully. As things stand, with treatment often coming too late, most sufferers die - more than 80% of those infected in Indonesia, for example. But the new machine could yield a result within two hours. If it can be manufactured and rolled out, therefore, it really could save many lives.