Experts Introduce a Quick Detection Technique for Antibiotic Resistance

(Newswire.net — June 30, 2022) Orlando, FL — Various studies have been carried out to look into the methods potentially helpful in battling antibiotic resistance. It is important to keep in mind that it continues to claim more and more lives every year. 

A study reveals that a technique, which measures the metabolic activity of bacteria with an electric probe, can identify antibiotic resistance in less than 90 minutes. This is a dramatic improvement from the one to two days needed by current techniques. 

Such a discovery means that health care providers would be able to quickly identify which antibiotics will or won’t work for a person’s life-threatening infection. It is important to note that doctors around the world often face this dilemma. 

The findings of this Washington State University research were published in the journal, Biosensors, and Bioelectronics.

“The idea here is to give the doctors results much more quickly so that they can make clinically appropriate decisions within that timeframe that they’re working, rather than having to wait,” said Douglas Call.

The call is Regents Professor in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health and a co-author of the paper. 

“Instead of looking for growth of a culture, we look for metabolism, and that is basically what we’re detecting by the movement of these electrons so it can happen in much shorter time spans compared to a conventional culture-based assay.”

In the United States, millions of people are infected with drug-resistant pathogens annually. Further, thousands of people perish from pneumonia or bloodstream infections that become impossible to treat.

Antibiotic resistance is widespread due to the misuse or overuse of antibiotics. It is worth keeping in mind that the increase in the demand and use of antibiotics is fueled by the increasing rates of urinary tract infections.

While UTIs are mainly responsible for the widespread use or misuse of the medication, it is important to realize that there are measures found to be helpful in preventing the onset of the infection.

Plant-based ingredients like the harmless, medicinal sugar called D-mannose may be helpful. D-mannose can be found in cranberry, which is a popular remedy for UTIs. 

Over the years, researchers have been carrying out studies to look into the UTI-fighting benefits of this therapeutic ingredient. It has been found to potentially help prevent the onset of UTIs and the recurrence of the infection. 

D-mannose is even widely used today as a safer alternative to antibiotics. There are many UTI sufferers who turn to the use of formulas like Divine Bounty D-mannose, which has added cranberry and dandelion extracts (http://www.amazon.com/D-Mannose-600mg-Cranberry-Dandelion-Extract/dp/B01LX5KGF0).