Taiwan effort to combat Zika shines on international stage

2016/09/09

A Taiwan team’s efforts to combat the Zika virus have been realized in a device designed to provide timely point-of-care analysis that will significantly contribute to the battle against contagious diseases.

The device, dubbed BluBox and characterized by its capacity to analyze blood for the presence of the Zika virus in roughly 10 minutes, is the result of collaboration between the National Taiwan University Germination Program and Technical University of Denmark. It was honored in August by the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of its Combating Zika and Future Threats: A Grand Challenge for Development initiative.

“Fighting the spread of the Zika virus is a global challenge. BluBox is a groundbreaking innovation and can greatly enhance the effectiveness of existing preventive measures to combat the Zika outbreak,” said Hwu En-te, principal project investigator of the NTUGP.

Slated to enter the market in 2017 and featuring cutting-edge Blu-Ray optical technology from Taiwan, BluBox requires only a drop of blood for Zika virus screening. Unlike most other systems, which are costly and complex, BluBox is simple, low-cost and portable. It can also be used to screen for the dengue virus, according to Hwu.

Given the dangers posed by the Zika virus, Taiwan has taken efforts to fight the spread of the disease. Specialized testing stations, for example, have been set up at nine medical institutions across the country, according to Chuang Jen-hsiang, deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control, ROC (Taiwan).

The USAID initiative calls on innovators around the world to generate cutting-edge approaches to fighting the Zika virus and help strengthen the world’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=247761&ctNode=2194&mp=9)