No more antibiotics for viral respiratory infections

A Novel Host-Proteome Signature For Distinguishing Between Acute Bacterial AndViral Infections - Oved K, Cohen A, Boico  O, et al

A Multifaceted ‘Omics’ Approach For Addressing The Challenge Of Antimicrobial Resistance - Cohen A, Bont L, Engelhard D, et al

A simple blood test distinguishes between bacterial and viral infections. Oved identified  novel viral-induced host proteins able to complement bacterial-induced proteins to increase diagnostic accuracy. A bioinformatic screen identified putative circulating host immune response proteins which were tested in more than 1000 patients. The best performing combination of host-proteins were TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL, Interferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10 and CRP (AUC of 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92 to 0.96). The signature was superior to any of the individual proteins, routinely used clinical parameters and their combinations. It remained robust across different physiological systems, times from symptom onset, and pathogens (AUCs 0.87-1.0). In collaboration with John Hays from Erasmus Mc in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and other European researchers the authors have now initiated a multilevel –omics approach to further develop sensitive and specific tools to target antibiotics for respiratory tract infections. The accurate diagnosis of viral versus bacterial infection has the potential to improve management of patients with acute infections and reduce antibiotic misuse.

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