How are bacteria and viruses identified by genetic testing?

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How are bacteria and viruses identified by genetic testing?software

INFECTIOUS DISEASE TESTING

When we hear the term 鈥渋nfectious disease鈥? we usually think of something that can infect us and cause a disease process to begin. That 鈥渟omething鈥?can be a bacteria, virus, parasite, or fungus obtained from many different sources (other infected individuals, poor hygiene, transfusion with infected blood, shared needles between drug users, etc.). Disease-causing bacteria and viruses are known as infectious agents, and some of them can be quickly identified by using genetic testing techniques; however, common infectious agents, such as certain bacteria and viruses, are much less expensive to identify using standard laboratory methods that don鈥檛 involve genetic testing techniques.

Bacteria are one-celled organisms that contain their own DNA and in some cases can cause serious disease. Even those bacteria that harmlessly live inside our bodies and are involved in beneficial chemical processes can become mutated under unusual conditions and cause us to be very sick. By isolating the DNA from bacteria, breaking it into small pieces and amplifying them, the bacteria can be identified very quickly. Some of the bacteria that can be quickly identified using these genetic testing techniques include: Chlamydia trachomitis, which is an organism that causes a sexually-transmitted disease; Neisseria gonorrhea, which causes gonorrhea, Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme Disease, Legionella pneumophilia which causes Legionnaire鈥檚 disease, Mycoplasma pneumoniae which leads to 鈥渨alking pneumonia,鈥?Mycopbacterium tuberculosis which can cause tuberculosis, and Bordetella pertussis which causes whooping cough. Specimens that might contain these bacteria include urine, blood, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid, and others.