An £8m prize for a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs has been awarded, after a decade-long search for a winner, to a test that can identify how to treat a urinary tract infection in 45 minutes.

The Longitude prize was established in 2014 to incentivise a “cost-effective, accurate, rapid, and easy-to-use test for bacterial infections that will allow health professionals worldwide to administer the right antibiotics at the right time”.

Dr Tom Boyles, an infectious disease consultant at Johannesburg’s Helen Joseph hospital who was one of the judges, said most UTIs in South Africa were treated without a sample being sent off, because of time and expense.

Dame Sally Davies, a Longitude committee member, the UK’s special envoy on AMR and a former chief medical officer of England, said: “We can no longer afford ‘just-in-case’ prescribing of antibiotics.

“The Longitude prize winner lays the groundwork for a sea change in how we manage these precious medicines, where healthcare workers are supported with rapid and relevant diagnostic tests to make the best decisions for their patients.”

Mikael Olsson, a co-founder of Sysmex Astrego, said the product was being introduced in Europe, but the prize funds would be used to drive work with affiliates in Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa and reduce manufacturing costs.

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