Bio-Rad’s rapid MRSA screening ‘key to minimising spread’

Bio-Rad has announced the launch of its rapid MRSA screening test into the US market.

A chromogenic medium used for the rapid screening of the infection, its MRSASelect test was cleared for marketing by the Food and Drug Association in September.

With "high sensitivity and specificity" as well as rapid and direct identification, the MRSASelect test, currently the market leader in Canada, is said to identify MRSA carriers in 24 hours.

Its introduction into the US market comes as life science and pharmaceutical specialists Invitrogen teamed up with Biosynth to launch a fluorescence-based culture medium, also for the rapid detection of MRSA in hospitals and medical settings.

MRSA is an infectious bacterial strain that is resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin and methicillin.

"The rapid detection time of MRSASelect provides hospitals with the ability to quickly implement appropriate infection control," said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad president and chief executive.

"This is key to minimising the spread of this pathogen," he added.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, MRSA is estimated to have caused more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and around 19,000 deaths in the US in 2005, most of them connected with healthcare settings.