New V.D. Test

A Medical School researcher has devised a quicker and easier test for venereal disease than the test now in use.

Dorothy E. McComb, assistant in Microbiology, said yesterday her new technique involves checking for substances the body produces to combat venereal disease germs. The present method of testing for venereal disease is to take a sample from the infected area and grow a culture of the germs.

The new technique takes only a few hours, while the culture method requires at least two days, McComb said.

McComb added that most medical laboratories do not have the set-up to perform the culture test, while almost any medical lab can test for venereal disease antibodies.

McComb has applied the test to clamidium germs, a type of genital infection that frequently accompanies gonorrhea, she said. Other scientists have used the antibody test to detect gonorrhea infections, she said.