NanoLogix, a biotechnology company specializing in the rapid detection of harmful bacteria, has participated in the USA Today Group B Strep (GBS) Awareness Campaign entitled ‘Your Guide to Group B Strep.
NanoLogix BNP test kits grow bacteria samples similar to conventional petri culture technology, except the growth occurs on a permeable membrane that can be later transferred to a staining plate for more rapid detection. (PRNewsFoto/NanoLogix, Inc.)
The campaign reported in the USA Today News Section encourages public education on the risks of GBS in newborns and emphasizes the latest testing techniques to facilitate the prevention of the disease. A work carried out by the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) utilizing NanoLogix BNF technology is highlighted in the campaign.
Typical GBS culturing techniques require a 48-h incubation period to get results, while this work by UTHSC demonstrates that NanoLogix technology is capable of detecting and providing antibiotic sensitivity results for GBS within four hours, 4x quicker than traditional techniques.
The Group B Strep Association, the Center for Vaccine Awareness & Research, the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also participated in the seven-day campaign. The campaign will continue until August 6, 2012.
If GBS-colonized moms give birth prior to the administration of antibiotics, there is a possibility of bacterial transformation to the newborn, which in turn results in life-threatening infections like sepsis and meningitis. The CDC reported that nearly 25% of women test positive for GBS and around 1,200 American newborns, on an average, contract the disease.
Bret Barnhizer, Chief Executive Officer at NanoLogix, stated that the strong USA Today readership is a great chance to assist pregnant women to know about the risks of GBS and the essential steps to be taken to protect the health of their newborns.