{
  "id": 10071952,
  "title": "Blood test shows whether newborns with fever have bacterial or viral infection",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/blood-test-shows-whether-newborns-with-fever-have-bacterial-or-viral",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-26T22:00:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-blood-newborns-fever-bacterial-viral.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new blood test can accurately determine whether fever in newborns is caused by a bacterial or viral infection, according to a study presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress. This is particularly important as a fever in a baby under three months old can quickly become life-threatening due to the developing immune system. Dr. Tommaso Bellini, a pediatric emergency physician at the IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini in Genoa, Italy, explained that distinguishing between serious bacterial infections requiring antibiotics and self-limiting viral illnesses is a major diagnostic challenge. Current biomarkers often lead to false positives, causing unnecessary treatment for viral infections. The study involved 60 babies, with blood samples tested using flow cytometry to measure two molecules, CD64 (increasing during bacterial infections) and CD169 (increasing during viral infections). Combining these into a ratio resulted in a 100% sensitivity (correctly identifying all bacterial infections) and 96.6% specificity (low false positive rate) for bacterial infections. While the test is currently not a bedside test, the researchers aim to develop a fast, low-cost, point-of-care version. This could significantly improve treatment for young febrile infants, reducing unnecessary interventions and the risk of antibiotic resistance.",
  "summary": "A test that compares the levels of two molecules in the blood can accurately distinguish between bacterial and viral infections in newborn babies with fever, according to a small study presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}