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 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said its
specialized technology could make a "small but effective
contribution" to combat an outbreak that has killed 4,950 people,
mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Countries from the United States to China and Cuba have deployed
resources and health personnel in a U.N.-led aid surge.
The IAEA says a nuclear-derived diagnostic technology known as
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) allows
Ebola to be detected using fluorescent markers within a few hours.
The equipment in its original form had used radioactive isotope
markers.
Other methods of detecting Ebola require growing on a cell culture
for several days.
An IAEA spokesman said a shipment of an RT-PCR machine left for
Sierra Leone on Sunday, without giving further detail.
"We are currently in communication with Liberia, Nigeria, Cote
d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Guinea to identify their specific needs,"
Alexander Nitzsche added in an email.
(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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