Scientists from the University of Oxford have developed a test that can detect bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics - and it takes just three minutes to complete.
The test, called Mykrobe Predictor, is run through a device the size of a USB stick. It uses a program that analyzes the bacteria's genome to determine the specific antibiotic it is resistant to so it can prescribe the best treatment against the disease. This allows for a more effective treatment against superbugs and avoids the use of very powerful antibiotics, RT reported.
At present, the test is used for the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug. However, it can also be used to find the best treatment for tuberculosis. Scientists are predicting that it could soon be used for bacteria that cause other diseases, Daily Mail reported.
"Although this test deals only with TB and MRSA, we expect these methods to be extended to E.coli, pneumonia, gonorrhoea and other STDs," test creator Zamin Iqbal from the Wellcome Trust for Human Genetics at Oxford told Daily Mail.
The Mykrobe Predictor has been shown to be 99 percent accurate for MRSA and 82 percent accurate for tuberculosis in a study involving 4,500 samples. It is now being used in trials in three England hospitals.
The standard procedure for determining the correct antibiotic against a specific infection involves taking samples, culturing them and mixing them with various drugs to test which ones will work. Having a new test that takes a shorter time to complete and costs less is a welcome idea.
"We can test in minutes and now get an answer on which drugs can be used to treat a TB infection in two weeks, instead of up to 17 weeks which it takes using current technology that has not changed in decades," Iqbal said.
Superbugs are considered an urgent threat to public health. China was the first to report the detection of an E. coli strain that showed resistance to polymyxins, the last line of antibiotics, in humans. Other countries in Europe and Asia also reported finding the superbug in patients. In December, Public Health England announced that the resistant E. coli strain was detected in two patients.
