Lumos Diagnostics, an innovative rapid point-of-care diagnostics company, today announced it will join the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and organizations across the globe to advance awareness of overuse and misuse of antibiotics.
SARASOTA, Fla., Nov. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lumos Diagnostics, an innovative rapid point-of-care diagnostics company, today announced it will join the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and organizations across the globe to advance awareness of overuse and misuse of antibiotics.
From November 18-24, Lumos Diagnostics and partners of WHO’s World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) and CDC’s Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW) will share what clinicians and patients need to know about antibiotics and the importance of using antibiotics wisely in both community and healthcare settings.
“Diagnostic uncertainty due to the overlap in symptoms and signs of viral and bacterial infections coupled with the fear of missing a bacterial infection have fueled over-prescriptions—increasing antibiotic-resistant superbugs and adverse reactions to antibiotics,” said Rob Sambursky, MD, president and chief executive officer for Lumos Diagnostics. “Further, it is believed that COVID-19 will escalate antibiotic overuse and exacerbate what is already an ongoing global crisis. To protect patients, as well as to ensure antibiotics remain effective, the global healthcare community must work together to not only raise awareness but also to increase access to new medical research and rapid and accurate diagnostics, such as FebriDx—the first 10-minute diagnostic that was developed to differentiate between a viral and bacterial infection. This is especially critical as the world comes together to try to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Antibiotic resistance is a multi-decade crisis that impacts the healthcare community on a global scale. In order to curb the overuse of antibiotics, a clinician must determine if a viral or bacterial infection is present, which can be difficult as both infections often present with similar symptoms.
FebriDx® is a 10-minute test that uses a simple fingerstick blood sample to rapidly assess a patient’s immune response to an acute respiratory infection (ARI)—such as sore throat, cough or shortness of breath—at the point of care. FebriDx detects viral ARIs including COVID-19 and flu that may necessitate isolation as well as bacterial infections that require antibiotic therapy. This can assist not only with proper diagnosing and triage but also reduce the over-prescription of antibiotics, which are ineffective in viral infection.
Recently, the Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB), as part of the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for the COVID-19 pandemic response, recommended FebriDx as an innovative and novel test that could be used to “help guide the appropriate use of antibiotics” as well as to facilitate “the early detection of viral infections, such as COVID-19.” Further, the MIB noted that the ability to use FebriDx to triage patients would “avoid unnecessary use of COVID‑19 treatment resources and facilities.”
An independent study of 251 patients performed at the University of Southampton and recently published in the Journal of Infection identifies FebriDx as a rapid, accurate and affordable front door triage test to detect viral infection in patients later confirmed to have COVID-19.
Rob Sambursky and the Lumos Diagnostics team will be on hand throughout the week to provide insight about the importance of differentiating viral from bacterial infection and offer guidance about triaging patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information visit, linkedin.com/company/lumos-diagnostics or lumosdiagnostics.com.
About Lumos Diagnostics
Lumos Diagnostics specializes in rapid, cost-effective and complete point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test solutions to help healthcare professionals more accurately diagnose and manage medical conditions. Lumos offers customized assay development and manufacturing services for POC tests and proprietary digital reader platforms. Lumos also directly develops, manufactures and commercializes proprietary, Lumos-branded POC tests that target infectious and inflammatory diseases with unmet diagnostic needs.
Lumos’s current portfolio of tests includes:
- FebriDx®, an all-in-one, disposable, 10-minute, fingerstick blood test that differentiates viral from bacterial acute respiratory infections (ARI).
- COV-ID™; the Diagnostic Kit (Colloidal Gold) for IgG/IgM Antibody to SARS-CoV-2, a rapid and easy-to-use serology test for the qualitative detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 virus in patients suspected of a history of COVID-19 infection.
Both the FebriDx and COV-ID tests are CE marked for sale in Europe. FebriDx is also registered or licensed with the following other health authorities: Health Canada, Australia TGA, Saudi Arabia FDA, Pakistan DRAP, Singapore HSA, and Malaysia MoH. COV-ID is available in specific global markets in compliance with country requirements. The FebriDx test is an investigational device and limited by Federal Law to Investigational Use in the United States. COV-ID and FebriDx are not commercially available in the U.S. For more information on Lumos Diagnostics, visit lumosdiagnostics.com, and for more information on FebriDx, visit febridx.com.
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