US : Rapidly Diagnosing And Identifying MRSA From MSSA, FDA Clears First Test

Article from Medical News Today, excerpt :

" Staphylococcus aureus infections can be resistant to methicillin - an antibiotic - or susceptible to it. MRSA is resistant to methicillin while MSSA is susceptible. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the first test - the KeyPath MRSA/MSSA Blood Culture Test - that can tell one from the other rapidly.

Methicillin, also known as Staphcillin, is a semisynthetic penicillin-related antibiotic. It used to be effective against staphylococci resistant penicillin. Methicillin has been largely taken over by Vancomycin and is rarely used today. Over the last five decades, staphylococci (staph) bacteria have become increasingly resistant to several antibiotics, including methicillin and many other commonly used penicillin-related medications. These bacteria are known as MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Staph bacteria can cause skin infections, blood poisoning, pneumonia and other infections.

Within five hours of detecting any bacterial growth in a blood sample, the KeyPath MRSA/MSSA Blood Culture Test can tell whether the bacteria are MRSA or MSSA - one, two, or more days faster than standard AST testing. All the test requires is blood culture equipment, making it ideal for laboratory use."