The tools used to diagnose bacterial infections have barely improved since the 1940s. In fact, ‘most of our current testing methods are based on the methods developed by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in the 19th century’, the latest report from the UK’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance concludes.
The report proposes new ways to support diagnostics to transform how doctors manage infections and slow antibiotic resistance. Chaired by economist Jim O’Neill, the review blames a lack of investment in innovation and uptake for stymying the diagnostic market. The report is also critical of the low use of available tests, such as those for gonorrhoea and syphilis, which though imperfect can reduce unnecessary prescriptions. The report points out that in 2013 80% of gonorrhoea cases in England were still susceptible to penicillin and 70% to ciprofloxacin, yet doctors prescribed the last line of defense – a cephalosporin and macrolide.
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