Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus being ingested by neutrophilNIHScientists can distinguish between a viral and a bacterial infection by assaying just seven human genes, according to a study published this week (July 6) in Science Translational Medicine. A clinical test based on these findings would enable doctors to more appropriately prescribe antibiotics, which are ineffective against viruses.
This May, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that doctors prescribe antibiotics when they’re not needed in around 30 percent of cases examined. Overuse of these drugs may promote more widespread antibiotic resistance.
To address the problem, scientists at Stanford University looked at more than 1,000 patient blood samples to identify gene activation signatures associated with either bacterial or viral infections.
The researchers found they could distinguish these two classes of infections by analyzing the expression of seven genes alone. “The notion that there are just seven targets with really excellent accuracy was pretty shocking,” study coauthor Tim Sweeney told Time. The team was then able to validate this seven-gene assay with blood collected from 96 children with sepsis.
“Our test can ...
