The MicroPathID technology platform is applied to various specimen types for pathogen identification. In many cases, antibiotic resistance gene testing can also be used to help guide antibiotic therapy selection and assist with antibiotic stewardship.
The Human Microbiome:
The human microbiome is defined as the collection of microbes – bacteria, viruses, and single-cell eukaryotes – that inhabit the human body. We have only recently started to appreciate that the human body is home to far more than human cells: microbes in a healthy human adult are estimated to outnumber human cells by a ratio of ten to one, and the total number of genes in the microbiome exceeds the number of genes in the human genome by a factor of at least 200.
Although most bacteria are harmless or even beneficial, some are pathogenic and can cause infectious diseases in humans.
- Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria in the vagina, leading to depletion of the normally protective lactobacilli.
- Non-bacterial vaginal infections include: yeast infection (candidiasis), infections caused by protozoans (trichomoniasis), or other infections caused by viruses (herpes).
- Bacterial pneumonia is a bacterial infection of the lungs.
- Urinary tract infections are predominantly caused by bacteria. The main causal agent is typically Escherichia coli.
- Bacterial gastroenteritis is caused by pathogenic enteric bacteria. These pathogenic species are usually distinct from the harmless bacteria of the normal gut flora.
- Bacterial skin infections can occur through open skin, cuts, blisters, cracks in the skin, insect bites, animal bites, burns, surgical wounds, intravenous drug injection, or sites of intravenouscatheter.
- Chronic wound infections caused by vascular insufficiency often show multiple bacterial strains which are resistant to common antibiotics.
MicroPathID Provides:
- Rapid PCR results on pathogen identification and antibiotic resistance
- 12 – 24 hours from specimen receipt
- Improved Sensitivity
- 3-5X more sensitive than conventional culture
- Quantification to provide the relative abundance of bacterial species
Pathogen Identification:
Diagnosis of infection by a pathogenic organism is typically made by growing the organism in culture, a process which can take 48-72 hours or longer. Additionally, since many pathogenic organisms are difficult to culture or have not previously been cultured, the use of molecular diagnostic techniques to detect these pathogens is critical. Recent technological advances in high-throughput sequencing and multiplex PCR have made it possible to detect bacteria, fungi and viruses from a single specimen
Antibiotic Resistance:
According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. Its emergence rests on antimicrobial overuse in humans and food-producing animals. Infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to the standard treatment, resulting in prolonged illness, higher health care expenditures, and a greater risk of death. These resistant bacteria, fungi, and parasites have made diseases that were once easily treatable deadly again.1 In the United States there are an estimated 23,000 deaths and more than 2 million illnesses resulting from resistant organisms. The direct costs exceed $20 billion annually, and the indirect costs are in excess of $35 billion.2
References:
1 Brown ED, Wright GD. Antibacterial drug discovery in the resistance era. Nature2016;529(27):336-43. doi: 10.1038/nature17042.
2 World Health Organization. Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Report on Surveillance. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2014.
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