Rapid test to tell bacteria from a virus one step closer

Study shows point-of-care test can distinguish bacterial and viral infections in under 25 minutes
Reuters Health

In a proof-of-principle study, researchers demonstrated that a two-gene RNA signature can distinguish bacterial from viral infections in blood samples from children, paving the way to a rapid point-of-care test that could do the same in a clinic.

Previous studies have shown that children with bacterial and viral infection can be distinguished by their blood host RNA signature.