• UK-based diagnostics firm supporting call for responsible use of antibiotics in conjunction with European and International Antibiotics Awareness initiatives
• New molecular diagnostic multiplex assays hold the key to first-time, accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases
• Assays have the power to diagnose primary, secondary and asymptomatic co-infections to inform appropriate antibiotic prescribing

UK-based diagnostics company, Randox Laboratories, is supporting the call for patients and prescribers to ‘resist and desist’ antibiotic use in the fight against antimicrobial resistance this European Antibiotics Awareness Day. Coinciding with international awareness weeks in Australia, Canada and the USA, the concerted efforts of health authorities around the world to curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance is testimony to the global reach of the issue.

Now declared a ‘major threat’ by the World Health Organisation, Randox has been working at the forefront of this global challenge to deliver effective diagnostic solutions to arm against this growing problem. Developed over two decades of research and an investment of £200m, Randox’s innovative Biochip Array Technology (BAT) is the latest weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, with the ability to simultaneously detect multiple pathogens in a single test for rapid and accurate diagnosis.

Randox’s range of molecular assays within infectious disease enable the detection of primary, secondary and asymptomatic co-infections for a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of infection in individual patients. The Randox STI Multiplex Array simultaneously detects up to 10 pathogens from a single patient sample, whilst the Randox Respiratory Multiplex Array rapidly screens for 22 bacterial and viral upper and lower respiratory tract infections, with same day result reporting, for rapid diagnosis.

As Randox Managing Director Dr Peter FitzGerald CBE FREng explains, screening for all potential pathogens in infectious disease is vital in ensuring accurate diagnoses can be made; “Even after a confirmed diagnosis, many patients who haven’t been tested for a wider range of pathogens may harbour co-infections, impeding the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment and prolonging exposure to infection.

“Through a more comprehensive screening strategy at initial presentation, a complete patient profile can be obtained which will give clinicians greater understanding of the working of the disease and allow them to diagnose and prescribe correctly, ruling in or out the need for antibiotics, and helping to control their appropriate use.”

Antibiotic resistance has largely been fuelled by patient and prescriber overreliance on using antibiotics to treat disease. Once considered to be ‘magic bullets’ for curing infections, antibiotics are now firing blanks as they become ineffective against many common and treatable infectious diseases, such as the sexually transmitted infection, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and respiratory tract infections such as staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pneumoniae, which have been shown to be acquiring increasing levels of resistance to antibiotic treatment.

“First-time, accurate diagnosis of infection through molecular testing is key to treating infections correctly. The availability of these assays provides a powerful weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and we would encourage health providers around the world to utilise this technology to help curb the spread of the problem.”

For more information visit Randox: www.randox.com.