Metagenomics test saves woman's sight after mystery infection

A 29-year-old doctor from Bristol has had her eyesight saved after a "game-changing" test identified a mystery infection that had plagued her health for five years. Ellie Irwin suffered persistent inflammation in her right eye that didn't go away, resulting in blurred vision. No treatment helped and at one point she even considered having her eye removed. It was only after Ellie was offered a "last resort" analysis called metagenomics, that she was diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection which was cured with antibiotics. "It's been transformative," Ellie told the BBC. "I feel so fortunate." Professor Carlos Pavesio, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, says Ellie's case is a "breakthrough in the diagnosis of infectious diseases". "There are many patients we treat with chronic infections for years, but despite multiple tests we cannot identify the bug responsible," he says. ... Read full article.