Contributed by: Siddarth David & Dr. Tamhankar
Researchers at Stanford
University have developed a blood test that could identify if a infection is
caused by bacteria or virus in 4-6 hours, greatly improving the diagnosis and
thus protocols to be followed in treatment. The test which looks at just seven
genes to determine the micro-organism responsible for the infection was tested
among school children in Nepal with promising results.
The findings published in Science
Translational Medicine, have drastically reduced the time taken for blood
tests, which makes it impossible to determine the microbe before starting the
drug treatment. To identify the microbe type, the test uses the gene expressions information that the body
extracts from a particular gene to use it to direct protein formation that
responds to external agents. The seven-gene test is a vast improvement over
earlier tests that look at the activity of hundreds of genes. The researchers
are still working to conduct more tests and devise ways of making it cheaper
and commercially viable.
Given that a considerable number
of prescriptions for antibiotics are often given for viral infections, the
creation of such quick tests is a boon. It can help reduce unnecessary
prescribing of antibiotics and thus its consumption and eventually reduce
antibiotic resistance. This would be an
additional tool in the battle against antibiotic resistance.
