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Fast and Reliable ultra-sensitive Identification of Streptococcus B at deliverY

Sepsis, pneumonia and sometimes meningitis caused by Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are the most common severe bacterial diseases in infants. They account for high morbidity and mortality rates; despite the extent of implemented prevention strategies, GBS is still the leading cause of severe neonatal infections. Therefore to improve prevention strategies, a rapid screening test to be performed at admission for delivery is eagerly expected. Current rapid diagnostic tests based on the detection of antigens or DNA hybridization show poor sensitivities. The PCR technique is at least as sensitive as culture methods and much faster (45-60 minutes), but is barely routinely used. A rapid dipstick test for GBS vaginal screening should be much easier to perform and cheaper. In order to reach the required sensitivity, the detection that will be developed in the FRISBY project is an extrinsic SERS approach. A molecule with an intense and distinguishable Raman signature will be used for the detection. SERS is particularly well suited for these tasks because of the high sensitivity and the ‘fingerprinting’ characteristic Raman spectra produced by the selected tag.

 

Consortium

Companies: Coris BioConcept, WOW Technology

Universities: ULiège, UNamur

 

Contact:

Pascal Mertens: pascal.mertens@corisbio.com

Website: http://www.corisbio.com