MicrobeNet
allows better and quicker germ identification and health response, in some news
from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Everyone
has heard of common germs like E.coli
or influenza, but what about Streptobacillus
moniliformis or Capnocytophaga?
If not treated quickly, both can kill people within days. But they are so rare
that doctors and labs probably have never seen them and may mistake them for
more common diseases like meningitis. Enter MicrobeNet, an innovative online
tool designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that,
since 2013, has helped laboratorians and doctors get the information they need
to accurately diagnose causes of disease faster and save lives.
MicrobeNet
provides laboratorians with unprecedented access to CDC's virtual microbe
library of more than 2,400 rare and emerging infectious bacteria and fungi at
no cost. The recent multi-state outbreak of Elizabethkingia
in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan underscores the need for a tool like
MicrobeNet in diagnostic laboratories. Hospitals and health departments using
MicrobeNet can identify rare bacteria like Elizabethkingia
quicker, and know they’re comparing their results to the most comprehensive and
accurate disease database available.
In
partnership with Bruker Corp., CDC has recently added a new module to
MicrobeNet that allows labs to search the protein signatures of the bacteria
and compare them to the rare pathogens in CDC's MicrobeNet library by using
Bruker's MALDI Biotyper systems. Using MALDI to test is extremely fast and
cheaper to run than many other types of testing, making the technology
increasingly popular among labs. The new MicrobeNet module will be immediately
available to laboratorians and clinicians using the Bruker system in labs
nationwide. Until the addition of the MALDI library, MicrobeNet offered two
ways to search pathogens: by DNA sequence or biochemical tests (chemical
reactions caused by the bacteria).
MicrobeNet
can dramatically improve the health of people in the United States and around
the world by cutting the time for testing from about a week to a few hours.
"MicrobeNet
has the potential to revolutionize public health," said John R. McQuiston,
PhD, team lead for CDC's Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory and CDC's
lead for MicrobeNet. "This system helps public health labs and hospitals
quickly identify some of the most difficult pathogens to grow and detect. In
turn, MicrobeNet will help treat patients faster and allow health departments
to respond to public health emergencies more effectively."
osted by Dr. Tim Sandle