A new study says that it will be possible to detect all known viruses a person has been exposed to. And this could be done by using just a single drop of blood.

The test is still experimental; and one may have to spend just $25 to get it done. It could become a significant research tool to track patterns of diseases in various populations. It can help scientists compare people throughout the world and also compare the old and the young.

This test could be used to find whether reason behind chronic diseases and cancer is the virus or the body’s immune response to them.

The test is able to detect previous exposure to over 1,000 strains of viruses from 206 species; practically the complete virome i.e. all the viruses that are known to infect people. The test detects antibodies that are highly specific proteins, the immune system makes in response to viruses.

According to Stephen Elledge, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the lead author of the study, many people suffer from chronic Hepatitis C infections but are unaware regarding that and if one thinks of it as a routine test, done every time one visits a doctor, it would be different. He added that diseases like Hep C are needed to be treated as soon as possible.

Elledge said, “There are a number of diseases that could be initiated by a viral infection, so it’s an interesting idea to have a patient come in with a disease and say, let’s take a look at what viruses they’ve been exposed to”.