Scientists from the PathoNGen-Trace project in Germany and France together with colleagues from the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases developed a new genetic method, paving the way for a more effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The new method enables researchers not only to predict which antibiotics result in resistance but, it allows for a precise selection of compounds which are most effective against the respective TB pathogens and thus, enormously enhances TB treatment.
Until now, detection of TB pathogens and the precise determination of antibiotic resistance were only possible using culture procedures, requiring up to six weeks until a first result is available.
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Ref: Whole-genome sequencing for prediction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug susceptibility and resistance: a retrospective cohort study. The Lancet (2015) | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00062-6
Breakthrough in tuberculosis research shows which compounds will most effectively treat TB
