A new method has been developed by Japanese researchers to detect the presence of the Ebola virus in just 30 minutes, with technology that could allow doctors to quickly diagnose infection, Agence France-Presse reported. The current method is known to take doctors up to two hours.

To add to the convenience, the process is also cheaper than the system currently in use in West Africa, where the virus has already killed more than 1,500 people, Professor Jiro Yasuda and his team at Nagasaki University said.

"The new method is simpler than the current one and can be used in countries where expensive testing equipment is not available," Yasuda told AFP by telephone. "We have yet to receive any questions or requests, but we are pleased to offer the system, which is ready to go," he said.

"Primer", which amplifies only those genes specific to the Ebola virus found in a blood sample or other bodily fluid has been developed by the team, Yasuda said. Using existing techniques, ribonucleic acid (RNA) -- biological molecules used in the coding of genes -- is extracted from any viruses present in a blood sample.

Then, it is used to synthesize the viral DNA, which can be mixed with the primers and then heated to 60-65 degrees Celsius (140-149 Fahrenheit), according to AFP.

"If Ebola is present, DNA specific to the virus is amplified in 30 minutes due to the action of the primers. The by-products from the process cause the liquid to become cloudy, providing visual confirmation, Yasuda said."

Currently, doctors use a method called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, which is widely used to detect the Ebola virus. Taking up to two hours, it requires them to heat and cool samples repeatedly.

"The new method only needs a small, battery-powered warmer and the entire system costs just tens of thousands of yen (hundreds of dollars), which developing countries should be able to afford," he added.

The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea's remote southeast in February and has since spread across the region, being transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids. Symptoms of the highly infectious disease are diarrhea, vomiting and internal and external bleeding.