Pseudomonas

This is a really exciting development. Advanced technology to detect infections, for example in breath, has proved difficult so far. The successful training of the dogs on cultured samples will now be used as the foundation for testing patient samples directly

Professor Jane Davies, Professor of Paediatric Respirology, Imperial College

Most bacteria are harmless, and can even be beneficial to our health.

But some can be fatal and existing tests to confirm their presence in our body take several days, resulting in both a deterioration in health and an overuse of antibiotics.

Pseudomonas (Pa) infections are lung diseases caused by bacteria found widely in the environment, such as in soil, water and plants. These infections can be mild but if they occur in people with an existing illness or condition, they can be fatal.

Pa is the most common cause of lung infection in the life-limiting inherited disease, cystic fibrosis (CF). It chronically infects around 60% of the 10,000 patients in the UK by adolescence and adulthood and may be successfully eradicated, but frequently reoccurs and develops resistance to antibiotics. Chronic Pa is closely linked with faster lung function decline and earlier mortality.

The heavy antibiotic burden imposed upon patients and the resulting bacterial resistance, allergies and toxicities compound the detrimental impact of the infection itself. Our world first study, in collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Imperial College London and Royal Brompton Hospital and published in the European Respiratory Journal, proved that dogs are able to detect ultra-low concentrations of Pa. It also showed that they can differentiate between Pa and other CF bacterial pathogens by sniffing bacteria grown in a nutrient liquid.

Four double blind trials were undertaken with promising results;

Mean sensitivity and specificity for Pa versus other bacteria familiar to the dogs

Two of the three dogs maintained sensitivity above 90% on Pa versus previously unencountered bacteria

Accuracy consistently maintained during dilution testing – at dilutions of 1:1,000

Read Publication Here

Determining Accuracy

Collaborators

With thanks to Imperial College for providing the opportunity to partner on such a meaningful study. Their commitment to advancing knowledge through research and improving patient care continues to inspire and elevate our work.

With thanks to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust for their invaluable support in this pioneering research project.

Thanks to the Trust’s funding and partnership through their Strategic Research Centre for Pseudomonas infection, we were able to advance this innovative work, including the collection of participant samples and the development of training protocols for our dogs.           

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