Spotlight Diagnostics, a startup based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, is developing a test kit that will enable personnel to rapidly test for infectious diseases without requiring lab facilities. The kit targets infectious diseases like malaria, Chlamydia, gonorrhea and others that take a huge toll on human life.
For example, malaria claims at least 600,000 lives globally each year, with most of these fatalities happening in low-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 95% of this annual toll. The new test is intended to facilitate rapid diagnostics outside a lab in resource-constrained settings. In low-income countries, healthcare workers often administer treatment without ascertaining what exactly a patient is suffering from. In such cases, antibiotics are often administered even when the presence of bacteria hasn’t been confirmed.
This not only worsens antibiotic resistance but also exposes patients to other risks, such as the possibility of losing their lives when the actual ailment afflicting them hasn’t been identified and treated promptly.
The new test is a cross-breed between the common antigen tests and PCR technology. PCR technology is highly accurate but expensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, antigen tests are fast but have limited sensitivity, so the chance of false positives or missed diagnosis is high. The test being developed by Spotlight Diagnostics leverages both technologies to get accurate results in a timely manner and cost-effectively.
The test detects DNA and relies on light signals to distinguish between viruses, bacteria, fungus and other pathogens. It is so simple that one can use their smartphone to get a reading after a sample is tested by the kit. The kit relies on CRISPR together with Cas9 proteins to distinguish between different pathogens from the color they emit once the pathogen’s DNA is detected.
After getting positive results during tests at Arnhem Hospital in the Netherlands, the team is expanding their field tests to various countries around the world, including Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, among others.
Initially, they plan to manufacture the test kits in the Netherlands but later roll out manufacturing to different countries so that the kits can be made within the countries where they are being used. They hope this approach will increase access to the products while keeping costs affordable.
As climate change accelerates, infectious diseases are becoming more widespread and their toll is is increasing. Efforts like those of Spotlight Diagnostics aimed at developing new and affordable diagnostic tests will go a long way in helping to address the growing prevalence of these diseases. Disease detection is one thing and treatment is another. This is where firms like Soligenix Inc. (NASDAQ: SNGX) come in. These firms are also focusing on developing new treatments and vaccines against different infectious diseases. The combination of affordable, highly sensitive rapid tests and better treatment options promises to curb these diseases.
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