DNA sequencing device helps to treat UTIs

A new research from the University of East Anglia suggest that a new DNA sequencing device can treat Urinary tract infections (UTIs) more quickly and efficiently. This device is called MinION. It was used to perform nanopore sequencing to characterise bacteria from urine samples four times more quickly than using traditional methods of culturing bacteria.
The method can also detect antibiotic resistance, which improve the efficiency of treatment and stewardship of diminishing antibiotic reserves.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common reasons for prescribing antibiotics. Most are mild and only affect the lower urinary tract, but a few are more troublesome. These 'ascending' UTIs cause a growing burden of hospitalisations, mostly of elderly patients. Infection spills into the bloodstream, leading to a condition called urosepsis, which can be fatal.
Antibiotics are vital, and it must be given urgently especially when bacteria has entered the bloodstream. But unfortunately it takes two days to grow the bacteria in the lab and test which antibiotics kill them.
The research team used a new small DNA sequencing device called Nanopore MinION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies to investigate UTIs quickly - without culturing the bacteria.
The device is about the size of a USB stick. It could detect the bacteria in heavily infected urine and provide its DNA sequence in just 12 hours, which is too much faster than conventional microbiology. This technology is rapid and capable not only of identifying the bacteria in UTIs, but also detecting drug-resistance at the point of clinical need.
There are still more limitations to be overcome. This method currently only works with heavily-infected urine and can't yet predict those resistances that arise by mutation. But as the study is still going on and the technology is developing, more can be achieved.
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