Using
data from a 2008 outbreak of one of the most-feared "superbugs," and
modern genetic sequencing techniques, a team has successfully modeled, and
predicted, the way the organism spread between and within dozens of healthcare
facilities.
The
approach can tell if the bug is spreading within a hospital, nursing home or
long-term acute care hospital -- or if a new patient transferred from another
facility has brought it there.
In
other words, if fighting superbugs is like a horror movie, the approach can
tell if the call is coming from inside the house, or if the killer is lurking
outside and about to barge through the door.
And
just like in a horror movie, getting an answer quickly can guide what kinds of
barricades and weapons health professionals should use against the villain.
The
approach, published in Science Translational Medicine , combines current
epidemiological approaches with whole-genome sequencing -- spelling out the
entire DNA sequence of bacteria from each infected patient.
This
makes it possible to use the tiny changes in superbug DNA -- the kind of
mutations that happen naturally over time -- to track their spread within and
between healthcare facilities.
See:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle
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