Test for Fast Detection of MRSA

A new test is designed to aid the ongoing fight against methicillin-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by providing results in minutes, a day earlier than traditional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).

Early detection of methicillin resistance in S aureus isolates is extremely important if subsequent actions--such as isolation, infection control, and directed therapy--are to be effective. Requiring minimal labor and no expensive or complicated equipment, the PBP2' test from Oxoid (Basingstoke, UK) is much quicker and easier to perform than genotypic tests, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and yields clearly visible results within minutes, a day earlier than AST results.

The Oxoid PBP2' test is a rapid agglutination test that has demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity in evaluations around the world. The test conforms to both the EARSS (European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System) guidelines for confirmation of nonsusceptible S aureus isolates and the guidelines for the detection of oxacellin resistance.

Meanwhile, drug companies continue to explore treatment options that will be effective against these resistant organisms. One group in the United Kingdom is in the early stages of investigating a way to make MRSA strains vulnerable to the antibiotics they normally resist, noted Oxoid.




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