FDA OKs Army's Diagnostic Tool For Skin Disease
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- Army scientists at Fort Detrick are hailing the Food and Drug Administration's approval of a tool they helped develop for rapidly diagnosing a disfiguring skin disease caused by sand fly bites in the Middle East.
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command said Friday that the hand-held dipstick can produce results within 30 minutes. The previous method depended on laboratory tests of skin-lesion samples that often had to be shipped to the United States.
Lt. Col. Jeanne Norwood says rapid diagnosis means quicker treatment for the disease, called cutaneous leishmaniasis, or CL.
The Army says the disease affects millions worldwide, including U.S. service members. The World Health Organization reported a major outbreak in Afghanistan in 2010.
The device is made by Seattle-based InBios International Inc.
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