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MRSA test developed in Gelderland saves time and money for health service

June 18th, 2012

Gelderland businesses, Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research and the Slingeland Hospital have developed a new test for detecting MRSA bacteria swiftly and cheaply. The new test is revolutionary as it can confirm the presence of MRSA within six hours, thereby preventing further infection without delay. What’s more, the test is much cheaper than the tests currently used and hospitals can carry it out themselves.

MRSA bacteria are resistant to most antibiotics and therefore difficult to combat. This makes an MRSA infection highly dangerous to people with a weak immune system (in care institutions, for example).

Fast and simple
The results of the new test are available almost immediately. This dispenses with the need for preventative quarantine and ward closures in hospitals, thereby helping to save healthcare costs. The current generation of tests must be analysed in a specialised laboratory and it can take days before the results are available. Healthcare institutions are desperate for faster and cheaper tests that staff can carry out themselves.

Market
The partners in this venture will initially focus on the Dutch market. They will then take the product onto the European market, where MRSA infections are rife in many countries. In the future, the partners intend to develop more new tests for detecting other pathogenic bacteria.

Gelderland top sectors and innovation
The Province of Gelderland is providing financial backing for the MRSA detection project, as it contributes to innovation in the Agrofood & Health top sector. This is a central theme in the Province of Gelderland’s priority programme ‘Top Sectors and Innovation’. The project also enhances cooperation between businesses and knowledge centres, which, in turn, reinforces regional economic growth in the eastern part of the Netherlands.


Provided by Wageningen University

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