Amid increasing fears over the spread of the Zika virus, two Texas Medical Center institutions announced they have developed the first hospital-based rapid test for the virus. The test can be applied to urine, spinal fluid, amniotic fluid or blood. It will substantially simplify the testing process, which up to this point could present long delays due to reliance on public health laboratories and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Hospital-based testing that is state-of-the-art enables our physicians and patients to get very rapid diagnostic answers. If tests need to be repeated or if our treating doctors need to talk with our pathologists, we have the resources near patient care settings," said James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital and leader of the Houston Methodist test development team. Announcement