Five-minute test spots meningitis and sepsis

HOSPITALS are trialling a 15-minute blood test that can speed up the diagnosis of serious conditions including sepsis and meningitis in children.

- By Hanna Geissler

When youngsters arrive at hospital with a fever, doctors must determine whether the cause is a minor viral illness, like a cold, or a more serious infection.

Standard laboratory blood tests take a few hours. The new MeMed BV test can identify whether the cause is bacterial or viral within 15 minutes.