The WHO has issued new guidelines to drive development of accurate, affordable tests for life-threatening bacterial infections in newborns and young infants.
The World Health Organization has released a target product profile outlining essential features for diagnostic tests that detect serious bacterial infections, including neonatal sepsis.
An estimated 2.3 million newborns die each year, with around 15% of deaths caused by sepsis. Early, accurate diagnosis could prevent 84% of infection-related deaths.
The guidelines aim to improve access to rapid, affordable, and reliable in vitro tests, especially in low-resource settings where current diagnostics are inadequate or unavailable.
WHO says better tools will aid clinical decision-making, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and help combat antimicrobial resistance.
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