Brazilian Scientist Developed a Single Kit to Detect Infection-causing Pathogens

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The availability to private laboratories and public hospitals of a single “kit” for the prompt identification of medically relevant pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, could become a reality by 2021, helping to pinpoint the causes for an infection.

Researcher Rosane Silva, of the Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ), who is developing the project, estimates that it will become a reality in 2021, making it easier to identify the causes for an infection.

Presently, to identify what is causing an infection, the kits available on the market are specifically designed for only one target microorganism.

With funding from the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio de Janeiro (Carlos Chagas Filho Research Foundation – FAPERJ) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – CAPES), Rosane Silva said last week to Agência Brasil that the goal is for the “kit”, currently being tested in state-of-the-art equipment, to be used in other low-cost platforms.

Rosane also intends to establish partnerships to offer services and training of public hospital staff to make better use of the kits.

She estimated that the cost of this test could range between R$300 (US$75) and R$4,000 depending on the equipment used. “It will greatly depend on how well we can adapt the equipment to different platforms,” she explained.

Special cases

Rosane explained that this kit is not suitable for routine use, but rather for special cases, such as finding out what causes an infection in patients with sepsis, food contamination, and difficult-to-treat infections in orthopedic prosthesis.

It can also conduct environmental monitoring in soils and waters that are contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and detect infections in heart tissue, such as endocarditis, and in pediatric patients, including neonates and premature babies. The kit pinpoints the therapeutic approach that should be taken.

The kit’s result takes from 48 to 72 hours, but the researcher intends for it to be delivered as soon as possible: “In less than five days.”

The researcher expects to validate all tests within 24 months. She is adapting the system so that it can be used by distant or remote laboratories with limited resources.

The current testing phase is the most difficult one, said Rosane Silva, as it involves clinical samples that require prior patient authorization. According to the researcher, the kit can also be directed to a genomic signature of the nucleic acids.

The simultaneous detection of microorganisms associated with human health reduces hospitalization and, as a result, reduces hospital costs and mortality rates.

FAPERJ’s financing for the project totaled R$690,000, while CAPES contributed R$100,000.

The University of Texas is an intellectual partner in the project. The results achieved so far have generated three articles on the subject in the scientific journal PLOS ONE and in the newspapers “Microbiologyopen” and Gene.

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