Scientists
have developed an easy-to-use
computer program that can quickly analyze bacterial DNA from a patient's
infection and predict which antibiotics will work, and which will fail due to
drug resistance. The software is currently being trialed in three UK hospitals
to see whether it could help speed up diagnosis of drug-resistant infections
and enable doctors to better target the prescription of antibiotics.
The
Mykrobe Predictor software, developed by Dr. Zamin Iqbal and colleagues at the
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, runs on a
standard laptop or tablet without the need for any specialist expertise. The
program can analyze the entire genetic code of a bacterium in under 3 minutes,
once a bacterial sample has been cultured and its DNA sequenced.
A
study on more than 4,500 retrospective patient samples, published in Nature
Communications, shows that Mykrobe Predictor accurately detects antibiotic
resistance in two life-threatening bacterial infections: Staphylococcus aureus (one form of which causes MRSA) and
tuberculosis (TB).
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle
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