Patent ID: 7645591

Claim:
A method for distinguishing a bacterial infection from a viral infection in a patient, comprising the steps of (a) measuring in a whole blood sample taken from said patient chemiluminescence of phagocytic cells in said whole blood sample induced by non-opsonized zymosan (NWBCL), expressed per blood volume, (b) separating in the blood sample erythrocytes from leukocytes by lysis, (c) determining in the leukocytes the expression of Complement Receptor 1 (CR1), (d) multiplying the value obtained at step (a) by the value obtained at step (c) using the equation CR1×NWBCL/μl whole blood, (e) comparing the value obtained from step (d) to the mean+/−the standard deviation (SD) of the average values obtained from samples having a confirmed viral or a confirmed bacterial infection wherein when: (i) the value from the patient is numerically higher than the mean+/−the SD value obtained from the samples having the confirmed viral infection, the patient is determined to have a bacterial infection, (ii) the value from the patient is numerically equal to the mean+/−the SD value obtained from the samples having a confirmed viral infection, the patient is determined to have a viral infection, (iii) the value from the patient is numerically lower than the mean+/−the SD value obtained from the samples having the confirmed bacterial infection, the patient is determined to have a viral infection, and (iv) the value from the patient is numerically equal to the mean+/−the SD value obtained from a sample having the confirmed bacterial infection, the patient is determined to have a bacterial infection.