HHS awards contract to develop new diagnostic test for Zika

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has awarded an $8.9 million contract to further develop an automated laboratory diagnostic test for Zika virus, the second such test to receive funding from the agency’s Advanced Research and Development Authority. “This new diagnostic test will greatly enhance our domestic testing capacity and speed the availability of test results to help more people know whether they recently have been infected with the Zika virus, which can have devastating effects for pregnant women and their babies,” said Rick Bright, director of ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. If successful, the new test is expected to produce an initial result in 58 minutes.