To: Eagle who wrote (9359 ) 10/30/2002 10:03:08 AM From: Bucky Katt Read Replies (1) | Respond to Bio-dog gets significant NIH funding>National Institutes of Health ("NIH") to develop a nucleic acid-based, microfluidic device to detect a panel of respiratory viruses from a single patient sample. Xtrana will collaborate with Micronics, Inc ("Micronics") of Redmond, Washington, for lab card and integrated device development, and The Children's Hospital in Denver for clinical specimens and medical expertise. The NIH estimates that there are more than one billion respiratory infections -- often referred to as the common cold -- annually. In the United States alone, there are 51 million office visits and 18 to 20 million antibiotic prescriptions written annually for patients suffering respiratory infection symptoms in spite of the fact that antibiotics usually are ineffective in treating viral disease. This practice has directly contributed to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Recent investigations confirm that early detection and treatment of viral respiratory infections can reduce symptoms, hospital admissions due to complications such as asthma or pneumonia, and progression to secondary bacterial infections, while significantly reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics.
