Faster, cheaper urinary tract infection test


Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second most common infectious disease that affects millions of people globally each year. The 48-hour wait for urine test report delays treatment, and inappropriate use of antibiotics make the problem even worse by giving rise to multidrug-resistant pathogens. Now, researchers have developed a new test that can provide results in just 4 hours and also indicate which medicine should be prescribed for the infection. The diagnostic technique was developed by scientists at BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus, and published in BMJ Innovations.

The scientists visited hospitals in Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana and collected urine samples from suspected UTI patients. The urine was filtered in a special filter to trap the pathogenic bacteria, and the bacteria was cultured in a specially designed growth media. “We formulated the media called BITGEN which allows faster growth of pathogens of the urinary tract. Harvested bacteria from urine is mixed with the liquid media and left undisturbed for five minutes before dispensing into antibiotic charged strips for further growth,” explains Shivani Gupta, research fellow and co-author of the paper....Read more

 

Source web page:The Hindu


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