How to distinguish a viral infection from a bacterial one
Test against unnecessary antibiotics
The new test will distinguish any viral infection from
bacterial and will get rid of taking unnecessary antibioticsNadezhda Markina, <url>
A very useful test was made by specialists of Duke University Medical Center.
It allows you to distinguish any viral infection from a bacterial one. When a person falls ill with symptoms of acute respiratory infections, it is almost impossible to immediately recognize the source of infection — a virus or a bacterium. Meanwhile, it is obvious that the treatment in these two cases should be completely different. Antibiotics, which our compatriots like to swallow so much at the first signs of malaise, are effective only for bacterial infections, and for viral infections they will not help, but only harm.
The test is based on a blood test, which detects a marker formed by the immune cells of a sick person only in response to a viral infection. The authors published its description in the journal Science Translational Medicine (Zaas et al., A Host-Based RT-PCR Gene Expression Signature to Identify Acute Respiratory Viral Infection). They believe that their discovery can already be applied in practical medicine to save patients from unnecessary antibiotics.
"It is important to recognize the viral nature of the infection in the case of infection with such serious pathogens as the avian influenza virus or the Middle East coronavirus," emphasizes study co—author Jeffrey Ginsburg, professor of medicine at Duke University. — The tests currently used are designed for one type of virus, for their application you need to know what to look for. But our test will detect any virus, even one not yet known to science."
It is also able to identify any potential viral bioterror threat.
The human immune system responds differently to infection with a virus than to infection with a bacterium. These differences can be seen at the genetic level, since certain genes are activated in response to a viral attack. Thus, any viral infection leaves a genetic "fingerprint" that can be detected.
This fingerprint involves the reaction of so–called reverse transcription - the synthesis of double-stranded DNA on a single-stranded RNA matrix, which occurs during the reproduction of RNA viruses. The developed test system is based on the detection of reverse transcription.
In previous work, a team from Duke University approached the development of a test, finding about 30 genes involved in the immune system's response to the virus. To do this, biologists conducted research on volunteers who, in the interests of science, were infected with non-dangerous respiratory viruses.
In the present study, the test was tested on 102 patients lying in an emergency clinic. Some of them had a viral infection, others bacterial, control volunteers were not infected with anything.
Using their test, the specialists identified patients with a viral infection with 90% accuracy. Scientists were quite satisfied with this result, and they believe that the test opens up a new approach to the diagnosis of infectious diseases.
Currently, the test, which evaluates the activity of 30 genes, takes about 12 hours. The researchers plan to improve it in the direction of reducing the number of genes, reducing time and improving the accuracy of diagnosis. In the future, they are going to conduct broader tests of the test.
According to co-inventor Christopher Woods, the developed test will solve a serious health problem.
"One of the biggest global threats is the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, which arises as a result of the excessively widespread use of antibiotics. A test that can quickly distinguish a viral infection from a bacterial one will eliminate the unnecessary use of antibiotics and reduce the chances of bacteria developing resistance," Woods stressed.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru20.09.2013