Diagnostic tests for scedosporiosis

ISCA has developed a lateral-flow device and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of scedosporiosis, a group of diseases caused by Scedosporium fungi.

These pathogenic moulds are the agents of eumycetoma, a chronic deep fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, and are responsible for a spectrum of localised and life-threatening disseminated infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals, affecting numerous organs of the body including bones and joints, central nervous system, eyes, lungs, sinuses, and other body sites of cystic fibrosis patients, hematopoietic stem-cell and solid organ transplant recipients, hospitalised patients with COVID-19, victims of near-drowning following natural disasters, and in persons with penetrating injuries.

Scedosporium pathogens have recently been assigned to the high (eumycetoma-causative agents) and moderate priority pathogen groupings by the World Health Organisation.

Both of our diagnostic tests utilise ISCA’s Scedosporium-specific monoclonal antibody HG12 and are compatible with serum and bronchoalveolar lavage, providing a novel opportunity for the detection of Scedosporium infections in humans.