By Tina Hesman Saey -
By differentiating between bacterial and viral fevers, a new test may help doctors decide whether to prescribe antibiotics.
Fevers are a common symptom of many infectious diseases, but it can be difficult to tell whether viruses or bacteria are the cause. By measuring gene activity in the blood of 22 sick children, Gregory Storch, a pediatrician and infectious disease researcher at Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues were able to distinguish bacteria-sparked fevers from ones kindled by viruses.
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New genetic finger test quickly diagnoses between viral and bacterial infections
