News-Letter

The Hopkins team redesigned the PCR to fit the pressing needs of the emergency department. Their method involves two steps.

First, a general PCR is used to detect the presence of any bacterium in the patient sample. This test is non-specific - it cannot diagnose a specific illness - but it can help doctors quickly narrow down which patients are actually infected.

The second stage allows testing for specific pathogens that are categorized by the government as Class A bacterial biothreat agents, the most potentially dangerous.

The current version of the test allows detection of the bacteria associated with anthrax, plague and tularemia.

The method was fairly successful in rapidly narrowing down infected test cases from a larger populaton. Genetic testing remains a promising way to identify pathogens with high specificity and confidence, and further adaptations such as this will make the tests more reliable and rapid.

Early detection is crucial in preventing an outbreak of a bioterrorist attack or even a non-terrorism-related epidemic. Many pathogens spread quickly, so early intervention is key.

The relatively straightforward PCR reaction is quick, cost-effective and easily adopted by emergency departments and hospitals across the country.

Although the preliminary tests is not yet ready for widespread use, early indications are promising that a new generation of biothreat tests will soon be developed.

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