The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) is working on a test to detect infection with the Zika virus. The test should be available in a few weeks. The Zika virus can now only be detected in a blood sample during the acute phase of the disease, lasting about one week. The new test allows detecting zika also after this phase.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine is overwhelmed by people with Zika-related complaints, who lately visited Latin-America or the Caribbean. Doctors do not test everyone for Zika who has flu-like symptoms. People who look healthy can go back home. Pregnant women, however, are always subjected to a test. So far there is still only one case of Zika in our country.
Read more about the Zika virus here.
