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 Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common lethal genetic condition among Caucasian people with Tasmania having one of the highest rates in the world at around 1 case in every 650 births.
The disease affects a number of organs within the body, especially the lungs and the pancreas by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus. When sufferers develop chronic respiratory infections this leads to an irreversible decline in lung function and 95% of deaths are due to respiratory failure.
Lecturer Stephen Tristram and Honors student Ahron Rahael from the School of Human Life Sciences in Launceston have developed a new culture method that will potentially enable laboratories to detect pathogens causing these respiratory infections, which have previously been difficult to detect. Initial trials on laboratory controlled “mock specimens” have been very promising and Stephen intends to trial the method next year in a number of Cystic Fibrosis Centres throughout Australia.
Stephen presented this important development in Cystic Fibrosis research at the Australian Society for Microbiology National Scientific Meeting held in Melbourne in July. The abstract of his work has won the Oxoid ASM Media Award for 2008, and Stephen hopes the additional publicity will help generate interest from additional laboratories who may also like to participate in the trials of the new culture method.
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