The tests will be done on harmless segments of genetic material removed from tuberculosis bacteria. The biochips are designed to carry out thousands of biochemical reactions simultaneously and have performed well in laboratory tests. If we can quickly identify specific strains, it will help doctors prescribe the best treatments quickly and possibly help prevent a worldwide epidemic. Today, tuberculosis patients are often prescribed several antibiotics simultaneously, because it takes weeks or months to identify specific tuberculosis strains, and patients can die during this time. If successful, these initial studies will set the precedent for similar evaluations of other bacterial and viral diseases.
Antibiotic resistance results from the natural selection of stronger bacteria over weaker ones.
Stronger bacteria have mutated genes that help the disease resist antibiotics. Because tuberculosis cells grow slowly, patients must take antibiotics daily for at least six months to ensure that all the bacteria are eliminated. In impoverished nations, where people cannot afford months of medication, victims effectively become incubation chambers for new drug-resistant strains. In some Russian institutions, roughly 80 percent of tuberculosis patients were found resistant to at least one antibiotic, and 50 percent showed multiple resistance. Although airborne, tuberculosis is not remarkably contagious compared to other viral and bacterial infections.