Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a serious illness spread by ticks. People can develop a high fever, headache and a rash within days of a tick bite, so early diagnosis is important to reduce risk.
New research describes a faster, simpler diagnostic test that finds the bacteria in 40 minutes. The method mixes DNA from a patient sample with specialized reagents in two quick, 20-minute steps at room temperature. A visible change in the liquid colour indicates a positive result and no complex or costly laboratory equipment is needed.
The antibiotic doxycycline is used to treat the disease, and clinicians often start it while waiting for confirmatory tests because current tests can take too long. Roman Ganta, a professor and investigator at the Bond Life Sciences Center, stressed that quicker diagnosis leads to quicker treatment and can be especially important for children.
Ganta hopes the test will reach rural and under-resourced clinics. He is talking with the Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at Mizzou about possible clinical use. The study appears in Frontiers in Microbiology (source: University of Missouri).
Difficult words
- diagnosis — identifying a disease from signs or tests
- reagent — chemical used in a test or experimentreagents
- confirmatory — showing that a previous result is correct
- under-resourced — having few funds, staff, or equipment
- antibiotic — medicine that kills or stops bacterial growth
- bacterium — single microscopic organism that can cause infectionbacteria
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How might a faster, simpler test affect patients in rural areas?
- Why is quicker diagnosis especially important for children, as the article says?
- Would you feel comfortable with a test that shows results by a colour change? Why or why not?
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