Host-response Transcriptional Biomarkers Accurately Discriminate Bacterial and Viral Infections by Global Pathogens

Global endemic infections, such as leptospirosis, rickettsial diseases, and dengue infections present diagnostic challenges, posing a dilemma for antibiotic stewardship worldwide. The goal of this project was to identify accurate transcriptional classifiers able to discriminate between bacterial and viral illness of global pathogens. Overall design: Whole transcriptome RNA sequencing was performed on 294 human whole blood PAXgene RNA tubes from the U.S. and Sri Lanka. A variety of bacterial and viral infections from global pathogens were included. Noninfectious illness was included as a control category.