2024-08-21 09:15:06
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome is a disease that affects children under the age of five, is spread through contaminated food and can be fatal.
In countries like Argentina, 75% of cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome are caused by the serotype of bacteria known as O157, which is the main cause of the disease in the world.
Scientists have developed a test that quickly and reliably detects the bacteria that cause Hemolytic Uremic Disease and can prevent epidemic outbreaks.
It is a device developed at the Molecular Development Center of the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacy (FQByF) of the National University of San Luis (UNSL) in Argentina.
The device quickly and safely detects the bacterium Escherichia coli, carrier of ingested toxins, which causes diseases due to food spoilage and can lead to serious pathologies such as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, also known as ” raw meat disease.” It is currently used in public health centers in the provinces of San Luis and Mendoza.
The development of this area was created from a scientific research project led by scientist Jimena Manzur, and which is the basis of Romina Garraza’s Bachelor’s thesis in Molecular Biology. This thesis was directed by Manzur together with Dr. Maximiliano Juri Ayub.
The test, which allows the rapid confirmation of positive cases in children with diarrhea and which discovers all the variants of the genes that code in toxins, pathogenic to humans, specifically identifies the five major targets linked to the bacterium Escherichia coli.
A period of research. (Photo: UNSL)
The new device is safe, provides rapid detection of enteric toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), and is inexpensive. Manzur explained that it is a tool that improves the survival and subsequent quality of life of those who suffer from STEC infection. Detection is carried out by real-time PCR and allows rapid action.
With the use of these reagents, preliminary results are obtained in around 24 hours. it allows us to be careful about the possibility of an outbreak because O157 (…) The device allows us. to make quick decisions,” a specific scientific reference.
What does the machine detect? Escherichia coli is one of the first bacteria that we have in our body and rule the digestive system. This study discovered several virulence factors of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) bacteria. The five targets currently detected by the machine are genes that encode into toxin 1 (stx1), enter into toxin 2 (stx2), the eae gene, which produces a protein that enables bacteria to adheres to the intestine and its presence is associated with severe cases of Hemolytic Uremic Disease, plasmid O157, and the fifth objective is associated with a test adapted to directly analyze bacterial colonies, without the need to perform extraction DNA before. “We think that the presence of genes together, stx1, stx2 and eae, can be important as an indication of strains with high pathogenic potential,” explained Manzur.
At the moment, we use this in both clinical and bromatological tests, using in foods in prevention. Therefore, food science programs can generally perform tests on ground beef and processed foods to detect the presence of STEC (Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli).
“It is a development on which we continue to work (…) Our main objective is to enter toxins 1 and 2, the main virulence factors. If they are present, it is a typical sign that the patient may suffer from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. Furthermore, the device can detect the differences of these two toxins, something that current tests on the market are unable to detect, and thus avoid false negatives,” they concluded. (Source: Fabiola Gisel Aranda / UNSL / Argentina Invetiga)
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