From H-5…. to high five!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
The H-5 bird flu is making animals sick and eggs expensive! And people can catch H-5 too from sick animals. What can we do about this invisible menace?
Enter Joshin Kumar and team from Washington University. They made a device that checks air for H-5! Water is condensed from air and tested over molecules signaling the presence of the virus.
The sensor was over NINETY percent accurate and took less than FIVE minutes! It also detected H-5 BELOW an infectious level, making these devices preventative!
This tool could help farms and hospitals stop H-5 in flight.
No need to put all our eggs in one basket, we’re FLUent in solutions!
Reference: Kumar, J., Xu, M., et. al. Capacitive Biosensor for Rapid Detection of Avian (H5N1) Influenza and E. coli in Aerosols. ACS Sensors Article ASAP, (2025). https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.4c03087