MDL to Offer Antibiotic Resistance Test for Chlamydia Trachomatis

Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, L.L.C. (MDL), a CLIA-certified infectious disease laboratory specializing in high complexity, state-of-the-art, automated DNA-based molecular analyses, has announced that it is now offering an azithromycin resistance reflex assay for Chlamydia trachomatis.

MDL is believed to be the first and only clinical laboratory to offer the antibiotic resistance for this sexually transmitted pathogen. Drug resistance testing has become an essential tool to assist clinicians in the selection of appropriate drug regimens for effective treatment. The azithromycin resistance reflex assay for Chlamydia trachomatis will be performed at no additional charge when Chlamydia trachomatis is detected in a patient's specimen.

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease in the United States and is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. In 2010, over 1.3 million chlamydial infections were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 50 states and the District of Columbia. Asymptomatic infection is very common in both men and women and can therefore "silently" cause irreversible damage before symptoms are experienced or a proper diagnosis is made. Left untreated, a chlamydial infection can spread to a woman's uterus and fallopian tubes, and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, and infertility.

To prevent the spread of the chlamydial infection and cure the patient, an effective treatment must be initiated as quickly as possible. Although most genital infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis are effectively treated with azithromycin, recent studies indicate that a subset of strains are resistant to this antibiotic. This detection of resistance of Chlamydia trachomatis to azithromycin is therefore important when choosing proper antibiotic therapy. MDL has developed a molecular diagnostic sequencing assay that can detect these specific azithromycin-resistant Chlamydia trachomatis strains. This test is now being performed at no additional charge for any positive Chlamydia trachomatis specimens that have been detected by MDL's real-time PCR diagnostic assay.

Dr. Eli Mordechai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in announcing the new assay, stated: "We are pleased to add reflexive testing for azithromycin resistance to our Chlamydia trachomatis assay. The molecular-based testing that we have developed can discriminate between antibiotic susceptible and resistant infections. This information allows a physician, at the time of diagnosis, to provide the most rapid and cost-effective treatment to their patients. Recognizing the importance of the increasing antibiotic resistance among human pathogens, MDL is the only laboratory to now offer molecular diagnostic antibiotic resistance testing at no additional charge for three of the most common sexually transmitted diseases: Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and now for the first time, Chlamydia trachomatis."

MDL is a member of the Genesis Biotechnology Group located in Hamilton, New Jersey in "Einstein's Alley," the research and technology corridor of New Jersey, in close proximity to major metropolitan centers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.