HQ Team
March 26, 2025: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will invest up to $2.3 million in Owlstone Medical to develop a test that is designed to detect Pseudomonas infections from a person’s breath.
The test is also intended to enable care teams to monitor chronic infections in people with cystic fibrosis, according to a statement from the Foundation. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.
A Pseudomonas infection is usually diagnosed by culturing a sputum sample — mucus or phlegm coughed up from the lungs.
It is difficult to obtain these samples from children, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get them from people with cystic fibrosis who are taking modulator therapies that help clear mucus from the lungs.
Accurate detection
Sputum cultures also can miss early signs of infection.
Accurate detection of which bacteria are present can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use that can lead to drug resistance. Earlier identification increases the ability to eliminate infections before they become persistent and more likely to develop antibiotic resistance.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa are strains of bacteria that are widely found in the environment. Pseudomonas is a major cause of lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
The bacteria thrive in moist environments and equipment, such as humidifiers and catheters in hospital wards, and in kitchens, bathrooms, pools, hot tubs and sinks.
Cross-infection
The germs can spread by direct or indirect contact. Direct contact includes things like kissing. Indirect contact includes things like touching objects that have been touched by a person who has the germ, such as doorknobs or pens. This is called cross-infection. Cross-infection can happen in social settings like events or meetings.
“Developing high-performing diagnostic tests of lung infections that do not rely on sputum collection or invasive procedures is a high priority,” said David Nichols, MD, senior director of clinical research development at the CF Foundation.
“Once pseudomonas is established in the lungs, it is difficult to eliminate, so early detection and treatment is crucial in eradicating these infections.”
Owlstone will initially conduct a preclinical study on the feasibility of analysing the breath to identify pseudomonas lung infections and whether the technology can support longer-term monitoring.
Blood, urine
The initial focus will be on chronic pseudomonas, and if successful, Owlstone plans to undertake additional research into the detection of new pseudomonas infections to improve early diagnosis in people with cystic fibrosis.
Among those tested in the Foundation’s Patient Registry — excluding those who have had lung transplants — about 25% of people with cystic fibrosis were found to be positive for pseudomonas in 2023, and nearly 13% of them had multi-drug-resistant strains of the bacteria.
The Foundation is also funding research into using blood and urine samples from people with cystic fibrosis to determine when infections are present in the lungs.
