New Candida QuickFISH BC Rapid Molecular Diagnostic Test Now Available

The new Candida QuickFISH BC Rapid Molecular Diagnostic Test can positively identify C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis, directly from yeast-positive blood cultures in just 20 minutes. The CE marked, nucleic acid based test enables the microbiologist to report pathogen-identification results 2 to 5 days earlier than conventional methods. This enables clinicians, consultant microbiologists and hospital pharmacists to better optimise therapy for patients with fungaemia. Ensuring that the most appropriate antifungal agent is prescribed sooner, results in improved patient outcomes, shorter hospital stays and reduced treatment costs. QuickFISH is a patented, new technology that significantly advances time-to-result and ease-of-use. It is manufactured by AdvanDx and is exclusively available in the UK from Alpha Laboratories.

The QuickFISH range already includes diagnostic assays that rapidly identify bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococci and gram-negative rods. With the launch of the new Candida QuickFISH assay, the AdvanDx QuickFISH portfolio can now additionally identify the most common pathogens causing fungaemia in a hospital setting.

Candidemia is one of the most significant hospital-associated infections. It is a particularly serious risk factor for immune-compromised patients, such as those in intensive care, receiving transplants or being treated in oncology units. Conventional assays can take up to 5 days or longer to provide an accurate species identification. Newer methods such as MALDI-TOF can also be challenging. Therefore, patients are often treated empirically either with fluconazole, a relatively inexpensive, generic antifungal agent, or with an echinocandin, a newer class of antifungal drugs demonstrating broad activity against Candida species but substantially more expensive. As a result, patients often receive inappropriate, inadequate, or sometimes unnecessarily broad therapy.

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About Alpha Laboratories Ltd

Established in 1975, Alpha Laboratories ongoing mission is to continually find new ways to help science improve peoples lives through its evolving specialist diagnostic and laboratory supplies.
The top quality range of laboratory consumables includes Pastettes, pipette tips, pipettes, general liquid handling, microtubes and racks, and PCR consumables. The diagnostics portfolio offers specialist assays, controls, reagents and hardware systems used in blood grouping, clinical chemistry, haematology, haemostasis, immunology and rapid test specialities.