A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Seegene (Rockville, Maryland) reported the introduction of its Seeplex Meningitis ACE Detection test Monday at the 2009 Clinical Virology Symposium.

The Seeplex Meningitis ACE Detection tests for 12 meningitis-causing pathogens: five bacteria (S. pneumoniae, N. meningitidis, H. influenzae type b, L. monocytogenes, and S. agalactiae); and seven viruses (HSV1, HSV2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV6, and enteroviruses) from cerebrospinal fluid.

The company says the test brings a novel and fast-acting multiplex PCR diagnostic technique to simultaneously verify a complex range of pathogens that indicate meningitis, a severely debilitating infection that if not diagnosed and treated quickly can result in death.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, in which patients have flu-like symptoms of fever and aches/pains at the initial stage of infection.

Early diagnosis to identify whether meningitis is caused by a viral or bacterial infection at this early stage is critical for determining the correct course of treatment. Bacterial meningitis is usually more severe than viral meningitis and can cause brain damage, hearing loss, limb amputation, learning disabilities and death.