FRIDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- The first
Staphylococcus aureus diagnostic that can quickly identify
the staph bacterium and whether it's resistant to methicillin and
similar antibiotics has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
Staphylococci bacteria can cause a number of maladies,
including pneumonia, blood poisoning and certain skin infections.
Some of the infections may respond to antibiotics such as
methicillin and are called methicillin susceptible (MSSA), while
other strains are known as methicillin resistant (MRSA).
The KeyPath MRSA/MSSA Blood Culture Test is able to distinguish
between the two types of infection within about five hours, the FDA
said in a news release.
MRSA infections, while they can develop anywhere, often appear
in hospital and other health care settings, where many patients
have weakened immune systems.
The new diagnostic was evaluated in clinical studies involving
1,116 people at four major U.S. hospital centers. The test was 98.9
percent accurate in identifying MRSA, and 99.4 percent accurate in
identifying MSSA, the FDA said.
The test is produced by MicroPhage Inc., based in Longmont,
Colo.
More information
To learn more about MRSA infections, visit the U.S.
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.