High-Speed Diagnostics
August 2017 Production UpdateMore quickly than ever before, improved diagnostic testing can now pinpoint the exact bacterial or viral pathogen causing a certain infection. That swift identification allows doctors the earliest possible start in using the best treatment against these microbes. New techniques in the pipeline for superbugs, and now for COVID-19, promise both to accelerate that speed and to extend the number of precisely identifiable diseases. Faster and more exact therapy also reduces the development of antibiotic resistance, and in addition, healthcare costs.
More quickly than ever before, improved diagnostic testing can now pinpoint the exact bacterial or viral pathogen causing a certain infection. That swift identification allows doctors the earliest possible start in using the best treatment against these microbes. New techniques in the pipeline for superbugs, and now for COVID-19, promise both to accelerate that speed and to extend the number of precisely identifiable diseases. Faster and more exact therapy also reduces the development of antibiotic resistance, and in addition, healthcare costs.
"I would like to enthusiastically endorse your ongoing work on this documentary. Hospital-acquired infections and infections due to resistant pathogens cause thousands of deaths every year and undermine every aspect of health care, from routine procedures, to our cost-control efforts. Public awareness is the cornerstone of any solution and will help refocus our priorities as a society, so we can cure this epidemic. Your documentary will play a critical role in this effort, and thank you for putting it together!"
Eleftherios Mylonakis, M.D., Ph.D., FIDSA
Dean's Professor of Medical Science (Medicine, and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology)Chief, Infectious Diseases DivisionAlpert Medical School and Brown University