What are the latest virus and disease tests developed with Argentine science

There argentinian science is characterized, among other things, by its constant contributions wing health Since humanity. Recently, there has been news that explains this. It is that the researchers of CONICET, Marco Cacciabue and Debora Marconehas developed a bioinformatics tool that works with artificial intelligence to quickly and accurately classify influenza A and B viruses of people who took the disease.

These pathogens are among the main causative agents of acute respiratory infections as flu, pneumonia and other conditions which, in general, lead to a large number of pathologies and deaths in the world.

This test is not the only one the country’s bright minds contributed to last year. For example, in October 2022, a team of scientists produced the first kit diagnostic Since Escherichia coli; a fundamental project to fight against the advance Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). In turn, in February of the same year, five CONICET researchers prepared a serological kit to detect antibodies against COVID 19. GlobeLiveMedia has prepared a guide reviewing the development of each of these Argentine works that are now available for global health.

1-Influenza A and B viruses. Wording Infinity, This development had the support of the National Agency for the Promotion of Research, Technological Development and Innovation (Agence R+D+i) – which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation- and was featured in the science magazine Influenza and other respiratory viruses.

INFINITY was developed to classify the sequences of these pathogens isolated from human respiratory samples and to contribute to the study of their evolution over time and by region of the world. To test its performance, the tool was tested using influenza virus sequences from around the world downloaded from a public sequence database called GISAID.

One of the researchers in charge of the work, Débora Marcone, member of the Institute for Research in Bacteriology and Molecular Virology (IBaViM) of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the UBA, underlined: “Unlike the more complex programs that even take longer and are computationally demanding, our development allows us to classify human influenza A and B viruses quickly, easily and accurately.”

Secondly, the Argentinian researcher added: “These viruses have a great capacity to mutate their genome and the changes that occur and accumulate are those that give rise to new variants. The study of viral genomes is relevant to determine if new variants have appeared, in addition to monitoring those that already exist, if diagnostic methods are still adequate for their detection and even to reformulate the composition of vaccines when necessary”.

“When we carried out the tests, the result was very encouraging and showed an accuracy greater than 99%,” described Cacciabue, a scientist at the National University of Luján and the Institute of Agrobiotechnology and Molecular Biology (IABIMO , CONICET-INTA). ) .

INFINITY has two templates, “FULL HA” and “HA1”, to allow users to classify the sequences of the viral protein “hemagglutinin” (HA) gene or its partial region HA1, since both genomic regions are widely used worldwide for epidemiology and surveillance studies.

2-Escherichia coli. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentina has the world’s highest rate of cases of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) in children under 5 years old. Within this framework, in October last year, Argentinian researchers developed the first diagnostic kit for Escherichia Coli, the fundamental piece that was missing from this tragic puzzle that is unleashing HUS in the pediatric population. It is a test that provides data from a drop of blood.

The scientific team of the Chemtest company, led by Dr. Diego Comerci, has created this tool to improve the early detection of HUS, in collaboration with the Malbrán Institute, which is the national reference center for HUS. The diagnosis is obtained in 10 minutes and the test is so simple that it also solves another great challenge of the disease: to discover a solution that can be used both in the laboratory and in any of the most remote places in the world. world without there being a professional.

At the time, GlobeLiveMedia spoke to Comerci to find out the details of this diagnostic method: “HUS is an explosive combo and the key is early detection, as there are no specific drugs to treat it. Current diagnostic methods are slow and the first symptoms are unclear, diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Under these precepts, the researcher pointed out: “In this disease, it is essential to avoid the use of antibiotics, and early diagnosis is very important. The only way for the doctor to know that it is not a common diarrhea, but an infection caused by Escherichia Coli O157 or O145 is to use this type of test.”

“Early detection is important because one of the things to avoid with this disease is the use of antibiotics, as diarrhea caused by Escherichia Coli is not common and the antibiotic can make the damage worse and lead to a worsening of the case,” Comerci closed.

3-Covid-19. Although groups of researchers have developed other tests for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, in February last year five scientists developed the first medical product which was authorized by CONICET for its production and sale to a public entity, Laboratorios Chaqueños SA Las The researchers in charge of this development belong to CONICET, the Institute of Virology of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) and the National University José C. Paz ( UN Paz).

Wording “Serocovid-Federal”, the kit has the approval of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT). This type of test can detect the antibodies generated by the immune system of the human or animal body after contracting the coronavirus infection.

To develop the test, the researchers had the support of the R+D+i Agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the National Agency for Public Laboratories, which depends on the national Ministry of Health.

“We have been friends for over 20 years and when the pandemic started we started thinking about a solution. From the start, we wanted the result of our work to be transferred to a public company,” scientist Alejandra Capozzo, from Conicet and INTA, told GlobeLiveMedia. Her friend is Leticia Bentancor, an independent biotechnology researcher at José C. Paz University (UNPAZ). Nancy Cardoso, Carla Rivero and Cecilia Truco were also part of the group that developed the kit.

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