New portable bird flu detector unveiled

Scientists today revealed a portable bird flu detector that can spot the deadly H5N1 virus in less than 30 minutes.

The palm-sized device uses throat swabs or stool samples from humans and poultry.

Dr Masafumi Inoue, one of the researchers from the Singapore-based Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, said it could help fight an outbreak by providing early warnings.

Current bird flu tests take about three to four hours to complete and must be conducted in a laboratory, he said.

The device could potentially be 40 to 100 times cheaper than current bird flu detection tests, said Dr Inoue. It can also be adapted to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome, HIV and hepatitis B.

Research on the testing tool was published in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

"It may well be the answer to all our prayers, but we don't know anything about it yet," said Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific region.

Avian influenza has killed at least 200 people worldwide, but remains hard for people to catch.

Experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic.