"An ability to detect sick people would allow people to avoid being close to sick people, and hence minimise the risk of becoming sick if the person is a carrier of contagious disease," study co-author John Axelsson of Stockholm University told AFP. The volunteers had their photo taken about two hours after each shot -- thus once in a healthy state after receiving the placebo, and once "sick". After the LPS shot, some of the participants "felt very sick and others did not feel much sick at all" when their photo was taken, Axelsson explained. Both pictures, healthy and sick, of all participants were then showed to a different group of people, which had to rate whether the person was sick or healthy. The finding could "help medical doctors and computer software to better detect sick people," said Axelsson -- a potentially valuable diagnostic tool in a disease outbreak.

Source: The Nation Bangkok January 03, 2018 00:00 UTC