A genomic test developed at UC San Francisco to rapidly detect almost any kind of pathogen – virus, bacteria, fungus or parasite – has proved successful after a decade of use

A genomic test developed at UC San Francisco to rapidly detect almost any kind of pathogen virus, bacteria, fungus or parasite has proved successful after a decade of use.

The mNGS test has the potential to vastly improve care for neurological infections that cause diseases like meningitis and encephalitis.

It uses a powerful genomic sequencing technique, called metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS).

The mNGS test can detect respiratory viruses with pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and RSV in less than a day .

It could hypothetically detect all of them, should they emerge in the future.

Both the CSF and respiratory versions of the test have received breakthrough device designation from the FDA .

UCSF ’s mNGS test took just 48 hours to reveal that a boy had leptospirosis, which is treatable with penicillin.

Between 2016 and 2023 , the UCSF team analyzed nearly 5,000 CSF samples with the test, 14.4% of which turned out to have an infection.

In those samples, the test accurately identified the pathogen 86% of the time.