The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved a new test that would help doctors distinguish between viral meningitis and the less-common, but more severe, version of meningitis caused by bacteria. The Xpert EV test that uses molecular biology, works in combination with other laboratory tests, to help physicians distinguish between viral and bacterial meningitis in 2 1/2 hours.
Developed by Sunnyvale, California-based Cepheid company, it is the first fully-automated medical diagnostic test that works by isolating viral genetic material present in a patient's cerebrospinal fluid by a process called reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
The test is successful in the detection of infection resulting from a class of viruses known as Enterovirus, which are responsible for approximately 90 percent of all viral meningitis cases
