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. 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.