Rapid Screening Test for MRSA

A new laboratory-based test allows hospitals to rapidly screen patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The culture-based test, which differentiates between viable and dead bacteria, requires no more that one minute of hands-on time per specimen and can screen up to 45 samples per run. Negative results can be confirmed in five hours and positive results by the next day, slashing the confirmation time by at least several days.

MRSA is responsible for a significant amount of the morbidity and mortality associated with nosocomial infections. The new system will enhance effective management of infection control by rapidly identifying colonized patients within hours, not days, and will result in improved use of isolation resources. This will help to protect high-risk patients and keep the resistant organisms under control.

This new test platform, BacLite flex rapid MRSA test, was introduced by Acolyte Biomedica Ltd. (Porton Down, UK). Dr. Tim Combs, Acolyte chairman, commented, "We have gained a wealth of information from clinical microbiologists in the six months since we entered the rapid MRSA screening market. BacLite flex incorporates the full range of features requested by our customers and provides a flexible package for different specimen volumes and future single organism screening.”

The new test is available throughout the European Union (EU). Using ultra-sensitive detection technology, the test permits hospitals to rapidly screen all patients-- admissions, transfers, and discharges--for MRSA.




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