Rapid test for the cause of infection

New blood test saves from the erroneous prescription of antibiotics

BBC news: Rapid blood test to 'cut antibiotic use'

A team of scientists from several medical centers in Israel, in collaboration with MeMed, has developed a new blood test. The test will help to avoid prescribing antibiotics to patients with a viral infection, and those who need antibiotics will prescribe them faster.

The technology is based on the fact that bacteria and viruses use different protein cascades when they enter the body. TRAIL protein became important for the new test: its concentration is high in viral infections and low in bacterial infections. Scientists have combined this protein with two others, one of which is already used in routine blood tests.

A new method of analyzing blood samples correctly identified the nature of infection in more than 300 patients with suspected infection.

Eran Eden, a representative of MeMed, commented that the test is not perfect and cannot replace a doctor's diagnosis, but it is better than many methods of analysis used in the clinic now. The new technology allows you to get results in 2 hours, whereas the usual procedure requires several days of research.

The new test is still at the laboratory stage at the moment, but scientists are also developing a portable version.

Article by Kfir Oved et al. A Novel Host-Proteome Signature for Distinguishing between Acute Bacterial and Viral Infections is published in the journal Plos One; on the website of MeMed Diagnostics, you can read the press release of the New clinical study shows MEMED's ImmunoXpert™ blood test can accurately distinguish between bacterial and viral infections - VM.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru20.03.2015