The Risks of Co-infections in Respiratory Illnesses Among Infants and Young Children

Recent studies indicate that when molecular diagnostic tests for respiratory infections in infants and young children only screen for viruses, it becomes difficult to accurately detect co-infections with bacterial pneumonia pathogens. This analysis comes from Seegene, a molecular diagnostics company, which utilized its statistical analysis platform 'Stargora' to examine approximately 260,000 respiratory infection PCR test results from children aged 0 to 5.

The Significance of Co-infection Cases

According to Seegene's findings, pneumonia-causing bacteria were detected alongside viruses in 78% of cases that tested positive for viruses. Conversely, viruses were found concurrently in 88% of cases that tested positive for pneumonia-causing bacteria. This highlights the potential to miss co-infections if only one type of pathogen (either virus or bacteria) is tested for.

The initial symptoms of respiratory infections, such as cough, fever, and runny nose, are very similar, making it challenging to distinguish the exact causative pathogen. This is particularly concerning for infants and young children, who are at a higher risk of developing severe conditions like pneumonia or sepsis. Therefore, it is crucial to broadly identify various pathogens during the early stages of diagnosis.

The Necessity of Syndromic PCR Comprehensive Testing

This analysis revealed that in 82% of cases tested using comprehensive respiratory PCR assays that simultaneously detect both viruses and pneumonia-causing bacteria, two or more pathogens were found together. This significant result underscores the need for comprehensive testing over single-pathogen tests. Currently, medical practices primarily focus on tests that first identify common viral infections like influenza, COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

• Viral testing products: approximately 80%
• Pneumonia bacteria testing products: approximately 20%

However, in actual respiratory infections, it is common to detect both viral and bacterial pathogens concurrently. While single tests are useful for rapid identification of infection, they have limitations in understanding co-infections or complex infection patterns.

Global Research for New Testing Strategies

Seegene has announced plans to actively pursue the Global Million Clinical Study (GMCS). This research aims to validate the clinical value of diagnostic strategies for various diseases based on real-world clinical data accumulated from medical institutions worldwide, and to establish new global testing standards. Through this initiative, Seegene intends to build evidence for transitioning from the current diagnostic system, which relies heavily on single tests, to a comprehensive syndromic PCR testing system.

Such research and technological development will greatly contribute to promoting the global standardization of comprehensive syndromic PCR testing in the field of respiratory infection diagnostics. This will enable healthcare professionals to refer to the relative detection levels and combinations of pathogens in co-infection cases based on these test results.