Hong Kong Industrialist - Oct 2020

From left: Prof Terence Lau Lok-ting, PolyU’s Interim Associate Vice President (Innovation and Technology Development) and Adjunct Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Prof Alexander Wai, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU, and Dr Manson Fok, Chairman of the Board of Avalon Biomedical Management Ltd, the project sponsor 左起：理大暫任協理副校長（創新及技術發展）兼應用生物及化學科技學系客座教授劉樂庭教授、理大常務及學務副校長 衞炳江教授，以及項目贊助機構鎧耀生物醫藥科技（管理）有限公司董事會主席霍文遜醫生 快速識別病原體的需求 不少醫生在處方抗生素時都會感到進退兩 難，因為抗生素只能殺死細菌，不能殺死病 毒，而且濫用抗生素有機會令細菌產生抗藥 性。但若受某些細菌感染而得不到適時的抗 生素治療，病情就會迅速惡化。醫生每天要 處理眾多有上呼吸道感染症狀的病人，故急 需能夠快速辨識病原體的方法，以便對症下 藥，減少傳染。劉教授指：「以往的測試每 次只能診斷一至三種病原體，假如能引致類 似症狀的病原體有40種，那麼就要進行多達 40次測試，需要幾天方能完成。因此，我們 prescribe the right medicine. “In the past, each test can only identify one to three pathogens. That means if you want to test a sample for say 40 possibilities, you have to conduct the tests up to 40 times and it takes days. That’s why I worked with my team to develop this compact automated multiplex diagnostic system that detects up to 40 viruses and bacteria in one single test, including influenza A viruses (H1, H2, H3), avian flu viruses (H5, H7, H9), human respiratory syncytial virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and COVID-19. The The Need for Quick Identification of Pathogens Many physicians face the dilemma of antibiotic use. Antibiotics only kill bacteria, not viruses. Besides, the overuse of antibiotics can lead to antimicrobial resistance. However, certain bacterial infections call for timely prescription of antibiotics before the onset of more serious complications. Facing tens of patients with upper respiratory tract infection symptoms each day, physicians are desperately in need of a method to tell the pathogens quickly from one another, so as to break the chain of infection and to 10-12/2020 | 35