00:00Over the last couple of years, the antibiotics have been misused and inappropriately used
00:07a lot.
00:08For instance, in the community, around 30 to 50% antibiotic prescriptions are not appropriate
00:14either by the choice of antibiotic, the dose of antibiotics and the duration of antibiotics.
00:20So this is mainly causing the resistance to the bacteria.
00:24And so how will this finger prick test and throat swab potentially address the overuse
00:31of antibiotics?
00:34The finger prick test, it actually tells how severe the infection is and how likely it
00:41is bacterial.
00:42And that piece of clinical information actually help guide a GP and any doctors to make decision
00:48whether the patient need antibiotics or not.
00:52And the test result comes in two to three minutes time, which is very feasible in the
00:57general practice settings.
00:59On the other hand, the swab test actually 100% accurately pick up whether the sore throat
01:06infection is caused by group-based disturbed bacteria.
01:10And that actually really help guide the antibiotic treatment for the patient.
01:15So is this Geelong test part of a bit of a global effort to work out just how effective
01:20these tests are?
01:23So the point of gas therapy testing has been trialled globally and it has shown that this
01:30has enormous impact in terms of reducing antibiotic use in the community.
01:35And the result shows that 40 to 60% antibiotics can be reduced by using the point of gas therapy
01:44testing.
01:46And the swab testing that I'm using, that is quite novel.
01:50It hasn't been trialled globally, but I'm doing this test in Geelong at the moment,
01:57but I'll be doing the pilot trial and the bigger randomised control trial in the next
02:01stage.
02:03And so do you feel like you're part of something really important here?
02:06Because this could be a bit of a revolution in trying to stop the resistance building.
02:14It is.
02:15I'm as a researcher really proud of working as an antibiotic expert.
02:20So you think, you know, globally 7 million people are dying around the world because
02:25antibiotics are not working.
02:27So I feel great if I can help the clinicians to make an optimal decision of using antibiotics
02:34and help patients saving from the harmful effect of misuse of antibiotics and broadly
02:41to help the government to tackle these issues.
02:45So absolutely.
02:46I'm really happy and to be contributing more in the field in future.
02:51But are there some limitations with these tests in the types of bacteria detected and
02:56with challenges with secondary infections?
03:00I think the swab testing is rightly pick up the group A, so that is very specific and
03:09100% accurately pick up the bacteria.
03:12On the other hand, the CRP is not a specific biomarker.
03:16It doesn't really tell us who is bacteria actually causing infection, but it is an indication
03:23that the infection might be bacterial, but the test result could be interpreted with
03:29the other clinical assessment by the general practitioner or any doctors for any particular
03:35infection.
03:36So mostly lower respiratory tract infections, the CRP test result like, you know, is very
03:43useful to avoid antibiotic misuse in pneumonia and other infection as well.
03:49So do you feel like in 10 years time or so, this could really make a big difference?
03:56I mean, it is.
03:57We need the next phase of research is going to be to determine whether this test is cost
04:03effective or not.
04:04If we can prove that this test is cost effective and we can introduce this test at a larger
04:10scale in the community and the hospital, and it would have enormous impact to optimize
04:16antibiotic use in the routine practice.
04:18And this is something that would help establish antimicrobial structure programs in the community
04:27level and it increase the awareness among the patient and the general population that
04:32I should not use this antibiotic unless I have the bacterial infection.
04:37So it would have the breakthrough in addressing the challenges of antibiotic resistance around
04:43the world.
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