Rapid Test for MRSA

A new, rapid test for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) gives same-day results, allowing infection-control teams to act quickly to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infection.

The BacLite rapid MRSA test was developed by Acolyte Biomedica Ltd. (Porton Down, UK). The final evaluation of the test was made at three UK laboratories and showed that the test can achieve in five hours what current microbiologic methods take two days to deliver. "We expect this test to offer a rapid and cost-effective screening method at an important time in the fight against MRSA,” said Dr. Bill Mullen, CEO of Acolyte Biomedica.

In a multicenter trial of 1,377 nasal swabs, the sensitivity of the test was 93.4% and specificity was 95.8%. The probability that a negative result was correct (negative predictive value) was more than 99%.

Data from a study reported in the June 2005 issue of Clinical Microbial Infections have shown that a properly implemented screening program can reduce MRSA by over 50%. The kind of rigorous surveillance used in the study is the backbone of the "seek and destroy” approach, so successfully used in The Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, the combination of high bed occupancy rates and very infectious strains of the superbug suggests that traditional screening methods may be too slow for maximum effect. Rapid testing is increasingly becoming the method used by some UK hospitals to meet the challenge. The new BacLike MRSA test is designed to aid their effort.






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Acolyte Biomedica