Differentiating Viral from Bacterial Infections
Differentiating Viral from Bacterial Infections
Estimates claim that over 1.2 million people died in 2019 as a direct result of an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. Statistics show that up to 4.95 million deaths in the same year were associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR)1. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics is considered to be the largest contributing factor to the rise of AMR. Antibiotics are effective at treating a wide range of bacterial infections, however, when used to treat viral infections, they have little to no effect. Even still, many physicians continue to prescribe so-called empirical antibiotics as an all-encompassing treatment strategy. In their defence, differentiating viral from bacterial infections can be troublesome. Traditional testing takes the form of paired serology, which requires patients to visit a healthcare facility twice during a 2–4-week period. Many of these infections have distressing symptoms, making this an unreasonable time-to-diagnosis period. Novel molecular techniques can reduce the time to result in the determination of many infections. However, some of these methods are associated with high false positive rates and low specificity resulting in further misuse of antibiotics.
Mxyovirus resistance protein A (MxA) is a biomarker associated with viral infections. It displays antiviral activity against positive, double-stranded RNA viruses and some DNA viruses2. In a study from earlier this year, MxA was used to differentiate viral from bacterial infections in a cohort of 61 adults with an AUROC of 0.9 and a sensitivity and specificity of 92.3% and 84.6% respectively3. An additional study, known as the TREND study, found that a cut-off of 430μg/L could effectively differentiate bacterial and viral infections with an AUROC of 0.9, a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 100%4.
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a non-specific acute phase protein which is associated with bacterial infection. However, CRP levels have also been shown to be elevated in response to various viral infections such as Influenza virus, malaria5 and SARS-COV-26, limiting its utility in differentiating the aetiology of an infection.
Using both biomarkers in combination can help physicians determine the true aetiology of infection with high specificity, supporting antimicrobial stewardship and reducing the harmful use of these drugs. Available on the VeraSTAT, Randox provides tests for MxA and CRP, which together provide a fast and accurate method of detection and differentiation of bacterial and viral infections from a small sample.
We have provided an educational guide which describes these biomarkers and their usefulness in the arena of viral and bacterial detection. If you’re interested in learning more, you can find our educational guide here.
Differentiating Viral from Bacterial Infections
Alternatively, don’t hesitate to browse our range on our website or get in touch with one of our team at marketing@randox.com who will be happy to help with any query you have!
References
- Murray CJL, Ikuta KS, Sharara F, et al. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. The Lancet. 2022;399(10325):629-655. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0
- Liao S, Gao S. MxA: a broadly acting effector of interferon-induced human innate immunity. Visualized Cancer Medicine. 2022;3:2. doi:10.1051/vcm/2022002
- Metz M, Gualdoni GA, Winkler HM, et al. MxA for differentiating viral and bacterial infections in adults: a prospective, exploratory study. Infection. Published online February 3, 2023. doi:10.1007/s15010-023-01986-0
- Rhedin S, Eklundh A, Ryd-Rinder M, et al. Myxovirus resistance protein A for discriminating between viral and bacterial lower respiratory tract infections in children – The TREND study. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2022;28(9):1251-1257. doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2022.05.008
- Joseph P, Godofsky E. Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship: A Growing Frontier—Combining Myxovirus Resistance Protein A With Other Biomarkers to Improve Antibiotic Use. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018;5(2). doi:10.1093/ofid/ofy024
- Paranga TG, Pavel-Tanasa M, Constantinescu D, et al. Comparison of C-reactive protein with distinct hyperinflammatory biomarkers in association with COVID-19 severity, mortality and SARS-CoV-2 variants. Front Immunol. 2023;14. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1213246
Randox responds to antibiotic resistance warning from NI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael McBride
Today, Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael McBride has stated that antibiotic resistance is now the greatest risk to human health and medicines worldwide. Dr. McBride said; “Currently 700,000 people die worldwide each year from drug resistant infections and this figure is forecasted to reach 10 million deaths by 2050, if the problem is ignored.”
It is rather alarming therefore that 70% of GPs admit that they prescribe antibiotics when they are unsure if they are treating a viral or bacterial infection. By prescribing antibiotics for viral infections, which can’t be combatted with antibiotics, patients are being exposed to antibiotics which are of no benefit.
John Lamont, Lead Scientist at Randox Laboratories, said that “Current diagnostic testing for respiratory infections takes at least 36 hours to confirm the nature of an infection, and they cannot name and categorise infections as bacterial or viral is the way our new respiratory test can.”
At Randox, our pioneering R&D teams have developed a revolutionary swab test for respiratory infections which indicates the cause of the infection and whether a patient needs antibiotics or not. This helps to limit the amount of patients who are prescribed antibiotics, reducing antibiotic resistance.
The Randox test, which can rapidly detect and identify the cause of 21 respiratory infections in just 5 hours, can also subsequently determine the appropriate antibiotic drug treatment for patients.
This test, if adopted by GP surgeries, could allow medical practitioners to make the correct treatment choice on the same day as examination and before patients have already begun a precautionary course of inefficient antibiotics. It would also have additional efficiency savings for the NHS, by eliminating the need for lengthy microbiology lab tests and unnecessarily prescribing drugs which are not needed. This new rapid and accurate test will give the GP confidence in their diagnosis of respiratory infections and will allow for quicker treatment if necessary, which benefits patient outcomes.
The test is also available as a Randox Health Cough, Cold & Flu offering, and can be carried out by booking an appointment with Randox Health at our clinics in Crumlin, Holywood or London, or by arranging the mobile clinic to visit you at your home or place of work.
So what action can we take to limit the looming antibiotic resistance crisis?
- Ask your GP if tests will be performed to make sure you even need antibiotics and that the correct antibiotic is prescribed.
- Take the antibiotics as prescribed. Make sure you complete the prescribed course, even when you start feeling better. This makes sure that all bacteria from your current infection are eradicated, leaving none behind that could potentially develop resistance to your antibiotic.
- Only take antibiotics prescribed for you; do not share or use leftover antibiotics. Taking the wrong medication will delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply, and potentially develop a resistance to the antibiotic you are using incorrectly.
Find out more about the Cough, Cold & Flu Respiratory test here.
Book an appointment with one of our clinics, or arrange the mobile clinic, by phoning 0800 2545 130 or by clicking here.
For further information please contact the Randox PR team by email: randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
