MicroPhage's MRSA test detects bacteria within five hours
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
A test developed by diagnostics firm MicroPhage can detect Staphylococcus aureus within five hours, the Longmont, Colorado company claims. The test requires two tubes, one to determine whether the sample contains S aureus, and the other to ascertain whether the strain is antibiotic-resistant (MRSA). Patients can then be treated accordingly. MicroPhage hopes to launch the test in late 2009. Other firms to have rapid MRSA tests approved recently include Cepheid and Becton Dickinson – their tests give results within two hours, whereas traditional blood culture methods can take up to two days.