A product for the detection and characterization of brucellosis launched at University ...( This release is available in a href...),Health

This release is available in Spanish.

Ignacio Lpez-Goi and David Garca, researchers of the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology of the University of Navarra, have launched a new product for the detection and characterization of the Brucella bacteria, which is the causative agent for brucellosis, also known as Mediterranean fever. Their product is a commercial analysis kit, sold under the brand name Bruce-ladder, and was developed in collaboration with Ingenasa, a Madrid-based business dedicated to applied biotechnology in the areas of animal and human health and food safety.

Bruce-ladder permits the identification and differentiation of the microorganism via the amplification of sequences of specific genes using the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique. In order to develop this product, these microbiologists of the School of Sciences analyzed the complete sequences of the genomes of various distinct species of Brucella, which permitted them to design a system capable of differentiating them in a single test, and in less than 24 hours.

The novelty of this techniques derives from the fact that is able to distinguish all the known species of Brucella, including vaccine lines and the isolated species present in marine mammals.

A more rapid and safe analysis

"Up to now, differentiation of Brucella was only performed in central laboratories, by means of complicated biochemical and serological techniques, handling the bacteria themselves, which involved a risk for the laboratory personnel. Now, with this new molecular test, the bacteria samples can be analyzed in a simpler and more rapid manner, without having to handle the bacteria directly", as the microbiologists of the University of Navarra explained. The kit has been tested by various leading laboratories in France, Belgium and Portugal, and has been approved
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