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Press release - The innovative Deeplex® Myc-TB antibiotic resistance prediction test has been evaluated by an international research team. By analyzing data from more than 5,600 strains and samples of various origins and types, this study measures for the first time the sensitivity, specificity and detection limit of this test.

GenoScreen is sponsor of the Genetics and Genomics Symposium organized by Equipex LIGAN-PM, entitled "The Magnificent Last Decade In Genetics and Genomics".

This symposium will take place on March 13, 2020 at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lille.

Program of the event :

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Two exceptional strains of tuberculosis, isolated from East African patients with multi-resistant forms of the disease, have been discovered thanks to the use of our molecular test, Deeplex® Myc-TB.

New training sessions in Bioinformatics and Targeted Metagenomics are available for 2020, don't hesitate to sign up!

Researchers from the Lille Centre for Infection and Immunity (CNRS/INSERM/Institut Pasteur de Lille/University of Lille/CHU Lille), INRAE, GenoScreen and from Brazilian (Belo Horizonte), Scottish (Glasgow) and Danish (Copenhagen) laboratories have shown for the first time in mice that perturbation of the gut microbiota caused by the influenza virus favours secondary bacterial superinfection. Published in Cell Reports on March 3, 2020, these results open up new prospects for the prevention and treatment of bacterial pneumonia, a major cause of death in elderly or vulnerable people infected with the influenza virus.

GenoScreen will participate in in-cosmetics® global from June 30 to July 2, 2020, in Barcelona, Spain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations (including the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease), have recently called for action to accurately diagnose and treat zoonotic1 tuberculosis in people, caused by Mycobacterium bovis2. Its contribution to human tuberculosis, otherwise primarily caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, may be globally underestimated. Nationally representative data on this zoonosis are especially lacking in the world regions (Asia, Africa) where the burden is presumably the highest.

M. bovis is a bacterium responsible for bovine tuberculosis, which is also capable of infecting humans. This bacterium frequently causes extrapulmonary tuberculosis in people, which is difficult to diagnose. Also, in contrast to M. tuberculosis, M. bovis is naturally resistant to pyrazinamide, an important antibiotic in the standard short course tuberculosis treatment.

Accurate diagnosis of M. bovis is therefore important to define appropriate patient treatment. This diagnosis can also guide the detection of infected animals and contaminated food sources (meat, dairy products, etc.), representing zoonotic risks that can escape TB control measures.  However, the most commonly used phenotypic and molecular diagnostic tests do not differentiate M. bovis from M. tuberculosis.

To address these problems, Al Ashkar and colleagues used the new Deeplex® Myc-TB test to reveal for the first time the national prevalence of zoonotic tuberculosis in a lower-middle-income country, namely Lebanon. Unlike the other tests, this comprehensive assay developed by GenoScreen enables the users to distinguish M. bovis from M. tuberculosis, identify more than 100 other mycobacterial species, and to simultaneously detect resistance to pyrazinamide, as well as to 14 other anti-tuberculosis drugs. The test can be applied directly on clinical samples, with a turnaround time of one to two days, instead of weeks when using culture-based tests.

The use of the Deeplex® Myc-TB test, which specifically identifies M. bovis, will thus help better detect zoonotic infections, allowing definition of more appropriate treatment of patients and providing guidance to uncover zoonotic sources.

 

1. Zoonosis: human disease contracted from an animal or animal product source (for instance: cattle, dairy products, meat…)

2. Olea-Popelka F, Muwonge A, Perera A, Dean AS, Mumford E, Erlacher-Vindel E, Forcella S, Silk BJ, Ditiu L, El Idrissi A, Raviglione M, Cosivi O, LoBue P, Fujiwara PI. Zoonotic tuberculosis in human beings caused by Mycobacterium bovis-a call for action. Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 Jan;17(1):e21-e25. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30139-6. Epub 2016 Sep 30. Review. PubMed PMID: 27697390

Louise-Eva VANDENBORGHT supported her thesis for the degree of doctor of the University of Bordeaux

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