New Test Detects Antibiotic Resistance in Minutes




Health and Medicine (Audio) show

Summary: When you get sick, you want the right treatment fast. But certain infectious microbes are experts at evading the very anti-bacterial drugs designed to fight them. A simple and inexpensive new test developed by UC Berkeley researchers can diagnose patients with antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in a matter of minutes. The technique could help doctors prescribe the right antibiotics for each infection, and could help limit the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which kill as many as 700,000 people worldwide each year. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Show ID: 34493]