C-FAST was a device purported to be able to detect infection with the

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

virus (HCV) from a distance, using electromagnetic radiation emanating from the virus' genome. At a press conference in February 2014, Egyptian generals presented the device as a result of decades-long secret military research.

Device

The government of Egypt filed an international patent for the device in 2010. The ''Guardian'' wrote about it in February 2013. A report on an international study evaluating C-FAST appeared in 2013 in an online journal published by the

predatory publisher Predatory publishing, also write-only publishing or deceptive publishing, is an exploitative academic publishing business model that involves charging publication fees to authors without checking articles for quality and legitimacy, and withou ...

WASET. According to this report, the device detected hepatitis C with high specificity and sensitivity. The device was said to compare the received electromagnetic signal from a patient to the ideal signal emitted by a specific part of the HCV

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

genome that had been measured in a laboratory and stored on the device. If those signals agreed, the hand-held device would create a force, pointing the device's antenna towards the patient; if they didn't agree, no force was detected. The device's design and claimed method of action were very similar to those of the bogus bomb detection device

ADE 651 The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector produced by the British company Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd (ATSC). Its manufacturer claimed it could detect bombs, guns, ammunition, and more from kilometers away. However, it was a sca ...

, and it resembles a

divining rod Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...

Press conference

At the press conference on 24 February 2014, Egyptian major-general Ibrahim Abdel-Atti revealed the device, as well as a similar one ("I-FAST") for the detection of

HIV infection Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. Both were adapted from a bomb detecting device. Another device was announced at the presentation, the "Complete Cure Device" (CCD), which was said to operate similar to a

dialysis machine In chemistry, dialysis is the process of separating molecules in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, such as dialysis tubing. Dialysis is a common laboratory technique that operates on the sam ...

, curing hepatitis C and HIV by removing the viruses from the blood. Field Marshal

Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

, who had just been appointed Minister of Defense, attended the presentation, which might have had political significance, especially since Egypt has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world and Al-Sisi was a candidate (and ultimately successful) in the presidential elections three months later.

Reactions and further developments

Egyptian comedian, news commenter and physician

Bassem Youssef Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef ( ar, باسم رأفت محمد يوسف, ; born 21 March 1974) is an Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, surgeon, doctor, media critic, and television host, who hosted '' El-Bernameg'' (''The Show''), a satirica ...

mocked the devices on air. The CCD was planned to be rolled out in Egyptian army hospitals in July 2014, but in that month it was announced that this roll-out had to be delayed to allow for further testing. The claims about the devices were strongly criticised by doctors and scientists.

References

{{reflist Hepatitis C Military of Egypt Fraudulent detection devices