Rapid UTI test that cuts detection time to 45 minutes awarded Longitude prize

An £8m prize for a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs has been awarded, after a decade-long search for a winner, to a test that can identify how to treat a urinary tract infection in 45 minutes.

The test could herald a “sea change” in antibiotic use, the judges said as they announced the winner of the Longitude prize on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR, where the drugs used to treat infections no longer work, is a growing concern. It leads to the deaths of nearly 1.3 million people worldwide annually and is predicted to cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050.

Between 50% and 60% of women will experience at least one urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, and up to half of the bacteria that cause the infections are resistant to at least one antibiotic. The infections can cause potentially fatal sepsis.

However, a lack of good, quick tests means doctors often have to diagnose an infection based on symptoms and guess which antibiotic will work. The inappropriate use of antibiotics drives resistance by giving bacteria opportunities to adapt to evade them.

The winning Sysmex Astrego’s PA-100 AST system is based on technology from Uppsala University in Sweden. A 400-microlitre sample of urine is placed on a phone-sized cartridge and then into a shoebox-sized analyser unit. It can spot bacterial infection within 15 minutes, and identify the antibiotic to treat it within 45 minutes.

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Source: The Guardian, 12 June 2024