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Fecal Odor May Yield Faster Test for Diarrhea Bug (Update1)
By Jason Gale
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A new device that sniffs out malodorous bacteria in stool samples may yield the first rapid test for a potentially lethal diarrheal disease spreading across North America and Europe.
The OdoReader can detect the bacterium Clostridium difficile in about 10 minutes with 96 percent accuracy, said co-developer Chris Probert, who teaches gastroenterology at the University of Bristol. Prototypes will be tested against existing diagnostic methods, according to the Wellcome Trust, which is funding the development of the portable device.
Detecting the bug earlier by analyzing gases emitted from feces could help stem its spread and hasten treatment for a disease that can cause life-threatening bowel inflammation. About half a million Americans were infected in 2008, and hospitalizations doubled between 2005 and 2000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“For a long time it has been known that stools have a distinctive and different odor if there is an infection,” Probert said in a statement today. “What OdoReader does is take this ‘knowledge’ a step further by comparing the odor of feces of patients with those from people with specific gastro- intestinal disease to make a rapid diagnosis.”
C. difficile invades the colon, causing anything from mild diarrhea to a more serious complication called colitis, which can lead to sepsis and death.
Distinct Smell
The infection is usually opportunistic -- targeting people whose normal bug-fighting bowel flora have been disrupted by antibiotic treatment for a separate medical condition.
More than 50,000 cases occur annually in England and Wales, according to the Wellcome Trust, the world’s second- biggest medical research charity. Reported deaths from C. difficile in the U.S. increased to 23.7 per million population in 2004 from 5.7 per million in 1999, according to a 2007 study in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Disease.
The anaerobe, which isn’t killed by alcohol, is found in feces and typically transmitted in hospitals and nursing homes by staff who have touched contaminated surfaces.
The diarrhea of those infected has a distinct smell, said Dena Lyras, a microbiology researcher and lecturer at Melbourne’s Monash University.
‘Cat’s Litter Box’
“It’s a 10-times stronger version of a cat’s litter box,” Lyras said in an interview. “It’s an awful, awful smell.”
The standard treatment is metronidazole, sold by Pfizer Inc. as Flagyl, for mild to moderate illness. ViroPharma Inc.’s Vancocin, also known as vancomycin, may be prescribed for more severe symptoms, according to the Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic.
“What we want to do is sniff the first sample from the bedpan,” Probert said in a telephone interview. “That means you can make a diagnosis at the bedside when the diarrhea begins, get your antibiotics in quickly and turn this disease off. If you can intercept the process early, you can save lives.”
The device works by detecting traces of the chemicals that characterize C. difficile, according to Probert.
“We see this as a platform technology,” he said. “We can see this being used throughout the gastrointestinal tract, but more importantly perhaps in the longer term for urinary tract cancers, urinary infections, lung diseases and other things that might be excreted in the breath.”
Selling Rights
The 1.3 million pounds ($2 million) of funding from the Wellcome Trust will support the development of OdoReader prototypes, according to the statement. If the prototypes are successful, they will undergo a clinical trial involving thousands of patients before being available commercially, Probert said.
He and co-developer Norman Ratcliffe, a researcher at the University of the West of England in Bristol, are in early- stage discussions with device companies about selling rights to the technology, Probert said.
A laboratory test to detect toxins produced by the bacterium can be performed in about 20 minutes and may be less reliable than OdoReader, he said. A cytotoxicy test, the most accurate diagnostic tool, usually takes two to three days for a result.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: February 5, 2010 07:57 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a1Iv2nMya9.0
By Jason Gale
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A new device that sniffs out malodorous bacteria in stool samples may yield the first rapid test for a potentially lethal diarrheal disease spreading across North America and Europe.
The OdoReader can detect the bacterium Clostridium difficile in about 10 minutes with 96 percent accuracy, said co-developer Chris Probert, who teaches gastroenterology at the University of Bristol. Prototypes will be tested against existing diagnostic methods, according to the Wellcome Trust, which is funding the development of the portable device.
Detecting the bug earlier by analyzing gases emitted from feces could help stem its spread and hasten treatment for a disease that can cause life-threatening bowel inflammation. About half a million Americans were infected in 2008, and hospitalizations doubled between 2005 and 2000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“For a long time it has been known that stools have a distinctive and different odor if there is an infection,” Probert said in a statement today. “What OdoReader does is take this ‘knowledge’ a step further by comparing the odor of feces of patients with those from people with specific gastro- intestinal disease to make a rapid diagnosis.”
C. difficile invades the colon, causing anything from mild diarrhea to a more serious complication called colitis, which can lead to sepsis and death.
Distinct Smell
The infection is usually opportunistic -- targeting people whose normal bug-fighting bowel flora have been disrupted by antibiotic treatment for a separate medical condition.
More than 50,000 cases occur annually in England and Wales, according to the Wellcome Trust, the world’s second- biggest medical research charity. Reported deaths from C. difficile in the U.S. increased to 23.7 per million population in 2004 from 5.7 per million in 1999, according to a 2007 study in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Disease.
The anaerobe, which isn’t killed by alcohol, is found in feces and typically transmitted in hospitals and nursing homes by staff who have touched contaminated surfaces.
The diarrhea of those infected has a distinct smell, said Dena Lyras, a microbiology researcher and lecturer at Melbourne’s Monash University.
‘Cat’s Litter Box’
“It’s a 10-times stronger version of a cat’s litter box,” Lyras said in an interview. “It’s an awful, awful smell.”
The standard treatment is metronidazole, sold by Pfizer Inc. as Flagyl, for mild to moderate illness. ViroPharma Inc.’s Vancocin, also known as vancomycin, may be prescribed for more severe symptoms, according to the Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic.
“What we want to do is sniff the first sample from the bedpan,” Probert said in a telephone interview. “That means you can make a diagnosis at the bedside when the diarrhea begins, get your antibiotics in quickly and turn this disease off. If you can intercept the process early, you can save lives.”
The device works by detecting traces of the chemicals that characterize C. difficile, according to Probert.
“We see this as a platform technology,” he said. “We can see this being used throughout the gastrointestinal tract, but more importantly perhaps in the longer term for urinary tract cancers, urinary infections, lung diseases and other things that might be excreted in the breath.”
Selling Rights
The 1.3 million pounds ($2 million) of funding from the Wellcome Trust will support the development of OdoReader prototypes, according to the statement. If the prototypes are successful, they will undergo a clinical trial involving thousands of patients before being available commercially, Probert said.
He and co-developer Norman Ratcliffe, a researcher at the University of the West of England in Bristol, are in early- stage discussions with device companies about selling rights to the technology, Probert said.
A laboratory test to detect toxins produced by the bacterium can be performed in about 20 minutes and may be less reliable than OdoReader, he said. A cytotoxicy test, the most accurate diagnostic tool, usually takes two to three days for a result.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: February 5, 2010 07:57 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a1Iv2nMya9.0