Farzaneh Sheikholeslami - WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Rabies, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

Precise diagnosis is crucial for implementing suitable and timely treatment strategies, especially when dealing with life-threatening infections like rabies. Rapid diagnosis of rabies is crucial for preventing transmission to the patient’s immediate contacts and medical staff, thereby controlling the further spread of the virus. Conventional methods for detecting rabies are either time-consuming or necessitate expensive equipment operated by trained professionals. This paper presents a novel rapid diagnostic method for rabies. This innovative approach leverages an isothermal reaction within a single platform, offering results within an hour and eliminating the need for specialized equipment. This method uses Cas۱۳a enzyme, buffer, three guide RNAs, and a probe to detect rabies virus RNA using a lateral flow chromatography technique in samples suspected of rabies virus. After doing the test, the results are indicated by the presence of the control (C) and test (T) lines on the strip. Preliminary evaluations demonstrate that this rapid method correlates well with established diagnostic standards, showing promising sensitivity and specificity values.

Rabies virus, Quick diagnosis, CRISPR, Lateral flow chromatography, Lateral flow assay