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New and Improved Rabies Test

Authorities in Henry County have issued a 45-day rabies alert.

(Photo: WSB-TV)

A new rabies test that was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could mean people exposed to potentially rabid animals could forego the weeks long regime of shots to prevent the deadly disease.

The new test, designed for use in animals, can more easily and precisely diagnose rabies infection. The new LN34 test is simpler and easier to use than the current test.

“Many of the areas hardest hit by rabies are also the areas least prepared to run current tests to diagnose it,” said Crystal Gigante, a microbiologist in CDC’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology and the study’s first author. “The LN34 test has the potential to really change the playing field. Quickly knowing who needs to receive rabies treatment– and who does not – will save lives and families’ livelihoods.”

Currently, if rabies tests are inconclusive, the bitten person usually is given a rabies vaccine as part of post-exposure prophylaxis, at an individual cost often over $3,000. LN34 could decrease the number of inconclusive and false positive tests, thus eliminating unnecessary vaccine use. Experts estimate that rabies testing, prevention, and control cost $245 to $510 million annually in the United States. About 40,000-50,000 people get rabies PEP in the United States annually. Worldwide, rabies kills about 60,000 people each year.

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