<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> A new world-first diagnostic tool could offer answers for Australians suffering hard-to-diagnose gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microba, one of Australia's leading biotechnology companies, developed the MetaPanel Metagenomic testing solution to help diagnose difficult-to-detect GI pathogens and develop more targeted and effective treatment plans.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Up to 47 per cent of patients who present to GPs with GI complains remain unresolved, and this test is aimed at slashing that figure.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/tropical-cyclone-alfred-live-updates-tracker-queensland-power-outages-evacuations-latest-news-headlines/13081401-e614-459c-b757-a972f4037c5d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Cyclone Alfred knocks out power to thousands</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was launched in clinical practices around the country more than a year ago and has helped up to 20 per cent of patients suffering chronic GI symptoms to receive a diagnosis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is the world's most comprehensive test for GI infections [and] it covers 175 targets," Associate Professor Lutz Krause, Microba's chief scientific officer, told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That includes 115 DNA pathogens and 60 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene families, many of which cannot be detected by any other existing test.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/microba-metapanel-metagenomic-testing-for-gastrointestinal-diseases/3b02e46f-5a33-40f8-bde7-1ca999d5969a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-and-ukraine-officials-to-hold-talks-in-saudi-arabia-over-ending-war-with-russia/823f0536-6a3a-45af-9c05-55c75779de87" target="_blank"><strong><span>US and Ukrainian officials plan peace talks next week, says Trump official</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A clinician orders the MetaPanel test for a patient, who then provides a fecal sample which is tested for these pathogens.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The results and a full report are sent to the clinician and the patient, which are then used to diagnose the cause of GI symptoms and develop a targeted treatment or management plan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have many case reports of patients that went through all kinds of examinations - colonoscopy, endoscopy, CT... they've been on a range of different drugs without getting any resolution," Krause said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In around 20 per cent of those patients that I just described, we are able to identify a pathogen that is missed by standard care."</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/03/13/11/01/most-miserable-countries-2024-australia-number-six-for-poor-mental-health"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/3uIXO1ITYZdoyEk3tlbnrWDZXiE=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7a6482c0-b83d-46d7-a817-f9831e2e529f" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/3uIXO1ITYZdoyEk3tlbnrWDZXiE=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7a6482c0-b83d-46d7-a817-f9831e2e529f 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/USV72B5HEyWDxuFOuzOAkkvl4_8=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7a6482c0-b83d-46d7-a817-f9831e2e529f 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">These are the most miserable countries in the world</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/03/13/11/01/most-miserable-countries-2024-australia-number-six-for-poor-mental-health">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The test is especially useful for patients who have persistent GI symptoms that have not been resolved through other tests, such as those suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An estimated </span><a href="https://crohnsandcolitis.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/State-of-the-Nation-in-IBD-Report.pdf" rel="" target="" title="180,000 Australian live with IBD"><span>180,000 Australian live with IBD</span></a><span>, which includes Crohn's disease and Colitis. More than 91,000 experience active disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The incidence of IBD is also increasing globally and Australia is at the front of the pack, meaning more Australians are seeking and receiving diagnoses.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/esoteric-music-festival-we-are-gutted-popular-regional-festival-cancelled-at-last-minute/dcf07829-602d-4cca-8458-24538ce4997c" target="_blank"><strong><span>'We are gutted': Popular regional festival cancelled at last minute</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Microba chief technology officer Dr David Wood has spent years working on the technology and said he was excited to see how it might help Australians.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It presents a new avenue for people with hard-to-diagnose GI symptoms to seek answers and will be meaningful for those who have been suffering for months or even years without a resolution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For a clinically meaningful subset of patients with these chronic conditions, they're getting a new answer that potentially resolves the condition," Wood said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An </span><a href="https://www.sonicmicrobiomics.com.au/media/oxbpp02y/shl_wehrhahn_an-early-review-of-metapanel_web_final.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title=" early review"><span>early review</span></a><span> of the first 278 MetaPanel samples support the utility of the test in diagnosing difficult-to-detect GI pathogens and identifying clinically relevant AMR genes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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