Rapid MRSA Test Now Available in the U.S.
Posted on January 7, 2008
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American medical professionals now have a new weapon in their anti-Staph arsenal. Last week the Food and Drug Administration approved a blood test that can detect the superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, in under two hours.
The new test, manufactured by BD diagnostics, identified 100 percent of MRSA-positive specimens in clinical trials. In addition, the speedy new test is a significant improvement over other MRSA tests which take more than two days to yield results.
“The BD GeneOhm test is good news for the public health community. Rather than waiting more than two days for test results, health care personnel will be able to identify the source of a staph infection in only two hours, allowing for more effective diagnosis and treatment,” announced Daniel G. Schultz, M.D., director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Fast, accurate lab results mean doctors can begin treating infections with the appropriate antibiotic almost immediately. Selection of the proper antibiotic is critical in the treatment of MRSA, and can decrease recovery time and the serious complications sometimes associated with methicillin-resistant infections.
BD Diagnostics is currently developing additional rapid tests to aid in the detection of the healthcare-associated infections vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Clostridium difficile.
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