Ratoath firm working to develop a new test to help detect Sepsis in young babies

A RATOATH based company has been working to develop a new test to help detect Sepsis in young babies for use in Uganda, where the disease kills 17 babies a day.

Accuplex Diagnostics Ltd has developed the test which is now under evaluation as a support to help detect the blood disease in newborns in the East African nation. While sepsis a problem in the developed world, it is a much bigger problem in low and middle income countries, and in particular in new born babies, according to Kieran Walshe, Managing Director of Accuplex Diagnostics Ltd.

He outlined that current results from the test are good that they are now looking at how to get this test into routine use initially in Uganda, and then to a wider area, where these tests are needed.

Kieran explained that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has established key 'Sustainable Development Goals' to help alleviate problems in low and middle countries such as Uganda and that one of these key goals aims to end preventable deaths and reduce mortality in babies and children under five.

While in Ireland approximately 20 babies die each year as a result of sepsis, in Uganda over 6,500 babies die each year, and the problem is not confined to Uganda.

Funded by Irish Aid and Science Foundation Ireland, Maynooth University have teamed up with a team in Makerere University and Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, and Meath based company Accuplex Diagnostics to evaluate a new test to help in the rapid detection of sepsis in newborn babies.

Accuplex Diagnostics already have a test for use in horses, an effective quick test to help determine if there is an infection. The biomarker detected, is also present in humans.

Kieran who developed and manufactured the current test said: "I have known for a long time that the test would have potential for use in detecting sepsis in babies. The problem was finding a way to demonstrate this. The Irish AID/SFI sponsored project provided the opportunity. The question to be answered is would the test help in detection of sepsis in newborn babies, and results so far give a big yes."

The test, NeoSep-SAA, uses a tiny heel prick or finger prick of blood and gives a result in 10 minutes. Kieran explained that other lab tests can take hours to days for results, if tests are available or used at all.

He told how they are now looking at how they can get this test made and supplied initially into Uganda and that his key objective right now is getting the financial support to help scale manufacture of the test and deal with high regulatory barriers required for human diagnostic testing. He said this was a challenge but funding could potentially come from the WHO, UNICEF, NGO`s or from philanthropic funds.