UI researchers are seeking quicker MRSA diagnosis

MOSCOW, Idaho – University of Idaho researchers are trying to find a way to identify more quickly an antibiotic-resistant “superbug” and other staph infections. The Centers for Disease Control reports methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, is responsible for more than 94,000 infections and 16,000 deaths annually in the United States.

Wusi Maki, who works with the Center for Advanced Microelectronics and Biomolecular Research, said staph infections have become larger problems at hospitals because doctors sometimes don’t know how to treat them.

She also said more insurance companies are denying patients coverage for the bacterial infections.

She said nanoelectric biosensors at the research facility have cut staph detection time down to three hours from three days, and that researchers want to reduce detection time even more. By doing that, the time a patient must spend in isolation also is reduced.

She said that while the infection is being identified, the patient can become increasingly ill as hospital costs pile up.

A Potlatch School District student recently was confirmed as having a staph infection, and student cases were reported in October in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Officials say staph bacteria usually are not harmful unless they enter the body through an open wound. However, staph infections in people with weak immune systems can cause serious illness.

Maki said the research facility she works at partnered with the university’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence to come up with the faster method of detecting staph infections.