--- title: Blood Test Every Virus in Drop of Blood description: New finding could help scientists trace how viruses spread canonical: https://time.com/3911629/blood-test-virus/ author: Josh Sanburn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-06T15:01:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:01.048Z article:section: Health og:title: This Blood Test Can Detect Every Virus You've Ever Had og:description: New finding could help scientists trace how viruses spread og:url: https://time.com/3911629/blood-test-virus/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Blood Test Can Detect Every Virus You've Ever Had twitter:description: New finding could help scientists trace how viruses spread twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Blood Test Can Detect Every Virus You've Ever Had > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=1a08bede-c8fb-4406-aea7-9ff0b68e4608&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Explains: Cancer Screenings [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: Cancer Screenings](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pAMu9cRG.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2012-10-01. TIME's Alice Park explains how new cancer screening recommendations effect you_ by [Josh Sanburn](https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Jun 6, 2015 3:01 PM UTC by [Josh Sanburn](https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Jun 6, 2015 3:01 PM UTC One blood test analyzing less than a single drop of blood can now reveal every virus people have over their lifetime, according to a new study. A new experimental test called VirScan can detect the 206 virus species known to infect humans and more than 1,000 known virus strains just by testing a small amount of blood, according to the journal [_Science_](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6239/aaa0698)_._ Scientists tested VirScan on almost 600 people on four continents and detected an average of 10 strains per person, many of which were common like the cold or flu. But at least two people tested positive for 84 strains. The new blood test could help doctors trace how viruses spread, and scientists say they believe the test could be expanded as new ones are discovered. ## Transcript In recent months, public health experts have said that not everyone should get screened for cancer, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to be screened. Here is what you need to know. [ MUSIC ] It used to be relatively straight forward that getting screened for cancer was a good way to prevent the disease. But a government group called the US Preventive Services Task Force has recently said that women, for example, Don't need to get mammograms until they're age 50, which is a full decade after previous recommendations had suggested that women get screened. And for men they now say that they don't need to get the blood test PSA which screens for prostate cancer at all. What hasn't changed is the idea that getting screened can prevent cancer. What has changed is the fact that we're better at calculating the risks and benefits of that screening. Lets take breast cancer for example, mammograms are actually x- rays, and so therefore expose women to a small dose of radiation each time they get screened. In addition, not every screening test is 100 % perfect, so they'll pick up. Some false positives, which means cancers that aren't really there. And that can lead to additional procedures, tests, and even surgery, which comes with its own complications. This is particularly true in prostate cancer which is such a slow growing cancer that most men are likely to outlive it. When the panel analyzed these costs and benefits They realized that the benefits did not outweigh the cost of having everyone screened. This doesn't mean that cancer screening is completely obsolete, however. 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