New Test Could Reveal Every Virus That's Ever Infected You

sciencehabit writes: A new blood test can find almost every virus you ever caught—in a single drop of blood. Called VirScan, the test surveys the antibodies present in the bloodstream to reveal a history of the viruses you've been infected with throughout your life. Besides diagnosing current illnesses, the new test could be an important tool in developing vaccines and studying links between viruses and chronic disease.

Comments

Great tool for insurance companies, too

[Anonymous Coward]

Insurance companies could use this to determine the pattern of risk in your behavior throughout your life. Someone with antibodies for a bunch of diseases related to risky behavior could be charged a higher premium to represent that tendency for greater risk-taking.

For example, someone with antibodies for 50 different flu strains is clearly taking more risk than someone who has only, say, 10. Maybe they don't wash their hands well enough, or maybe they expose themselves to sick people more. Either way, they are riskier people and should pay more.

Re:Great tool for insurance companies, too

[rmdingler]

The flu isn't really a great example for "risky behavior." I would be surprised if I've been exposed to less than 50 strains of the flu virus and I go 3-5 years between being sick with the flu or similar on average. The flu is mostly just a symptom of a life-style that involves being around other people.

A mega-flora of flu antibodies might actually be good for an applicant for insurance, as it generally represents greater future immunity to evolving flu strains.

Positives for hepatitis, HIV, etc. would definitely encourage the insurance company to attempt to opt you out.

wink wink If your maths are correct, I would be interested in getting your Doc's name and a reference.

Re:Great application

[Gilgaron]

Sure, if you were immune do to mutated cell receptors you'd be unlikely to have gotten enough virus to trigger an antibody response. Likewise this would probably only look back 10 years or so, as last I'd heard that was how long memory B cells are thought to live.

I would LOVE to see it ran against me!

[wwphx]

I have a condition called hypogammaglobulinemia. My body doesn't produce immuneglobin. I do weekly infusions of immuneglobin and have done so for six years now. The med is made from the donations of 10,000 people.

What virus have I NOT had under this test?