Lab Matters Spring 2020 | Page 23

INDUSTRY MATTERS Casting a Wider Net in AR Detection By Steve Kelly, Streck, Inc. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result, according to a recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019,” known as the “2019 AR Threats Report,” highlights the continued threat of antibiotic resistance in the country. Addressing this threat entails preventing infections, slowing the development of resistance through better antibiotic use, and stopping the spread of resistance when it does develop. Antibiotic resistance—the ability of germs to defeat the drugs designed to kill them—is one of the greatest global public health challenges of our time. The CDC report reveals that while prevention and infection control efforts are working to reduce the number of infections and deaths caused by antibiotic resistant germs, the number of people facing antibiotic resistance is staggering. Antibiotic-resistant infections in humans can be difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. People receiving healthcare or those with weakened immune systems are often at higher risk for getting an infection. The most deadly resistant healthcare-associated germs spread from patient to patient and across healthcare facilities—and even into the community, where they are much harder to control. In 2016, the Interagency Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria developed the National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. National Strategy goals include improved detection, monitoring and surveillance of AR bacteria, as well as stronger antibiotic stewardship in clinical settings and expanded research capacity. One of the main goals of the National Strategy is advancing and developing rapid and innovative diagnostic tests for identification and characterization of AR bacteria. Hospital infection control staff can see which resistance mechanisms are present in their local community or health system by using an antibiotic resistance surveillance method such as Streck ARM-D ® Kits. These kits allow lab personnel to detect the most clinically important β-lactamases for current and emerging threats. Casting a wider net —the ability to detect more AR gene variants —reduces the chances of reporting a false negative result, reduces the number of cases that slip through initial genetic screening and reduces retest events. Streck’s real-time PCR kits detect more than 1,000 different AR gene variants covering 26 families—approximately 10 times the number of variants than other real-time PCR-based detection methods, kits and cartridges can identify. The newest ARM-D Kits for MCR, expanded OXA, and TEM/SHV/GES detect all five major CRE gene families (KPC, OXA, NDM, IMP and VIM); colistin resistance target genes including MCR-1, MCR-2, MCR-3, MCR-4 and MCR-5; and ESBL genes including CTX-M-14, CTX-M- 15, TEM, SHV and GES. Streck ARM-D Kits are for research use only and not for use in diagnostic procedures. n Streck is a Gold Level sustaining member of APHL. PublicHealthLabs @APHL APHL.org Spring 2020 LAB MATTERS 21