The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a common virus that can increase the risk of cervical cancer in women.

We all know that early detection is most beneficial, so is in the case of HPV and cervical cancer.

Now, scientists from Iowa reported that they have developed a new and amazingly sensitive method in identifying the earliest stages of infection with human papilloma virus (HPV).

The said method is called single-molecule spectroscopy that could easily be integrated into the Pap smear method.

Unlike the existing methods of detection of viral infections have drawbacks...

That test is the Nobel Prize-winning polymerase chain reaction (PCR), used to detect DNA in settings ranging from medical labs to crime scenes.

PCR requires an initial step in which scientists "amplify," or copy, a DNA sample a thousand-fold before virus detection can begin.

However, amplification increases the risk of false-positives and false-negatives, especially when a sample has even a tiny amount of contaminants."

... single-molecule spectroscopy skips the amplification step entirely but can detect the presence of less than two copies of HPV per cell (a level corresponding to very early infection).

According to the team that developed the technique, single-molecule spectroscopy can become a good clinical screening or quantification method for viral DNA in cells that will open doors to the improvemet of screening tests for hepatitis B, herpes and other diseases.

Source: Science Daily

[Photo Credit: MSNBC]