Press release
Illumina Introduces New Research Test to Address One of the Most Common Infections in the United States
Panel leverages precision metagenomics to transform testing for urinary tract infectionsNewest kit follows recent launch of panel testing for 66 viral
About this update from Illumina, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Panel leverages precision metagenomics to transform testing for urinary tract infectionsNewest kit follows recent launch of panel testing for 66 viral pathogens that pose persistent threats to global public health SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2022 / Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced a new research test for genitourinary pathogen and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) identification. The Illumina Urinary Pathogen Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Resistance (ID/AMR) Panel (UPIP) applies precision metagenomics to detect and quantify pathogens, including those that are drug resistant that cause complicated and recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs).Genitourinary tract infections are among the most common community and healthcare-associated infections, and rising drug resistance causes increasing morbidity and mortality. This announcement comes after the October launch of two research tests enabling high-risk virus surveillance, as part of Illumina's steadfast commitment to supporting global preparedness for epidemic and pandemic outbreaks.In less than 48 hours, UPIP, a next-generation sequencing (NGS) based panel, detects and quantifies over 170 organisms that can cause genitourinary infections and more than 3700 AMR markers associated with 18 different drug classes. Combined with the use of Explify®, a fully automated data analysis platform, this workflow provides a comprehensive infection profile across bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic microbes.\"The growing threat of infections by common and uncommon microbes with growing antimicrobial drug resistance is alarming; public health and private laboratories require new tools to fight emerging threats. Our UPIP test represents a unique opportunity for microbiologists and clinical researchers to rapidly identify pathogens and potential drug resistance for complicated or recurrent urinary infections,\" said Dr. Phil Febbo, chief medical officer of Illumina.In the United States, UTIs are one of the most common infections in the community and in hospitalized patients; they account for an average of 10 million office visits and 1 million hospitalizations per year. The prevalence of drug resistance in disease-causing microorganisms (uropathogens) is increasing, and antibiotic treatment for acute infection...