Real time epidemic outbreak surveillance in areas with limited resources has been made possible by a newly designed "genome sequencing laboratory in a suitcase", according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Genome sequencing in outbreaks, like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa last year, is useful to understand how the virus evolves. However, the information must be available quickly in order for it to guide control efforts.

Developed by an international team, the highly mobile system was initially deployed in Conakry, Guinea in April 2015 where Ebola samples from patients could be sequenced as soon as new cases were diagnosed, according to the study.

By employing a novel DNA sequencer, the system could be transported in airline luggage. The team also found that they could generate sequencing information in as little as 24 hours after receiving a sample, with the sequencing process taking less than an hour.

Genome sequencing information is valuable for researchers and epidemiologists during an epidemic. Yet, generating such information is a laborious process typically performed in well-equipped laboratories using large, delicate and expensive hardware, said co-author of the study Dr Nick Loman from the University of Birmingham.

The core part of the equipment is a MinION DNA sequencer that weighs less than 100 grams from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and this sequencer is powered by the USB of a laptop which is currently being used by more than 1,000 researchers worldwide, according to the study.

"Having a portable DNA sequencing system opens up the possibility to do outbreak genome sequencing in real-time, which can directly impact on the response on the ground, as well as providing a wealth of information about pathogen evolution," said Loman.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. Since the first confirmed case was recorded on March 23, 2014, over 11,000 people have died as the result of the virus.