ShareThisHacking loudly but on the mend, Duke University freshman Sean Cadley emerged from two days of self-imposed isolation this week sporting a new pair of "bronchitis flip-flops."
She bought the sandals with lucre she earned for participating in a large study that aims both to track how cold and flu viruses spread and to see how well a new diagnostic method that Duke scientists developed can detect illness before symptoms arise.
The researchers, financed by the Department of Defense, hope that by evaluating their diagnostic tool, they also can provide timely insights into the spread of H1N1 flu and the effectiveness of simple prevention efforts such as isolation and good hand hygiene.
"We can identify where there are hot spots on campus and where we need to reinforce the messaging that goes out," said Dr. Chris Woods, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and the Durham VA Medical Center who is leading the research.
Woods and a team of scientists launched the study on the heels of an announcement last month that they had developed a new way of detecting respiratory infections. The method identifies genetic markers that the immune system produces when faced with different pathogens. These markers are evident even before patients report symptoms, and detecting them early could curb the spread of disease and lead to quicker interventions.
The Duke scientists are developing a doctor's office test that can read these genetic markers in blood.
The study, which aims to enlist between 500 and 800 students, will provide data about the accuracy of the diagnostic tool. Those findings will be reported within a year after all the blood samples are analyzed, study leaders said.
But the information about how sickness is spreading through the student community will be monitored in real time, said Bradly Nicholson, who is leading the team collecting serum samples from students.
The study recently began enrolling students in Duke dormitories, offering $25 gift cards to those who agree to give blood and post daily health updates that will alert researchers of any illness symptoms.
Students who report coughs, fevers, aches and other classic signs of respiratory ailments will be visited by a researcher who will draw more blood and run a nasal swab.
In addition, the researchers will get in touch with friends, roommates and others in close contact with the sick student, asking for their participation so that the researchers can track the concentric circles of infection.
Cadley, from New York City, was an especially sought-after candidate for the study because she's been sick, giving researchers a good starting point.
And because she was already sick, she earned $75 for her participation -- enough money to buy a pair of flip-flops emblazoned with the Duke insignia.
"I still have money left over," she said.
Her close contacts got an even richer deal. Each was offered $150, because they were asked to give blood for five days.
Ten of her friends snapped up the chance.
The students, while enticed by the money, said they also appreciate the opportunity to advance science.
"It's a good cause," said Scott Rong, a freshman pre-med major from Sunnyvale, Calif.
E-mail reporter Sarah Avery at savery(at)newsobserver.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C.
