--- title: Antibiotics: Overprescription Could Be Reduced by New Blood Test description: A new blood test can quickly tell if an infection is bacterial or viral, preventing the overprescription of antibiotics canonical: https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-19T07:11:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:16:26.166Z article:section: Health og:title: New Test Could Stop Overprescription of Antibiotics og:description: Blood test distinguishes between viral or bacterial infections. og:url: https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6dccdeb45c7d4385/69878449e20a872dafa85a55/antibiotics-virus-bacteria-blood-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2635 og:image:height: 1482 og:image:alt: In this image provided by Duke University, lab research analyst Marshall Nichols does research relating to a new blood test on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in Durham, N.C. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Test Could Stop Overprescription of Antibiotics twitter:description: Blood test distinguishes between viral or bacterial infections. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6dccdeb45c7d4385/69878449e20a872dafa85a55/antibiotics-virus-bacteria-blood-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Blood Test Could Stop Doctors From Overprescribing Antibiotics > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 19, 2015 7:11 AM UTC  In this image provided by Duke University, lab-research analyst Marshall Nichols does research relating to a new blood test on Sept. 17, 2013, in Durham, N.C. In this image provided by Duke University, lab-research analyst Marshall Nichols does research relating to a new blood test on Sept. 17, 2013, in Durham, N.C. Shawn Rocco—AP by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 19, 2015 7:11 AM UTC Scientists claim to have [established a new blood test](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2015-03/bpl-nss031215.php) that can help doctors quickly distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, giving physicians the ability to prescribe antibiotics more accurately. That’s according to a study published by PLOS One on Wednesday. Israeli-based company MeMed, along with researchers from other institutes, says that they examined over 1,000 patients and found that their ImmunoXpert blood test could distinguish between immune responses to bacterial or viral infections. The procedure is reportedly fast, taking only hours to complete when alternatives often require days. “Antibiotic misuse is a pressing public health concern, with devastating healthcare and economic consequences,” stated MeMed CEO Eran Eden in a release to media. “Unlike most traditional diagnostics, this approach builds on an exquisitely informative system crafted by nature — the human immune system.” While still in the laboratory stage, the test could be important because doctors have long struggled to identify the root causes of infections, meaning that antibiotics, which only attack bacteria, are often prescribed unnecessarily. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/"},"headline":"A New Blood Test Could Stop Doctors From Overprescribing Antibiotics","datePublished":"2015-03-19T07:11:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:16:26.166Z","description":"The procedure distinguishes between viral and bacterial infections","url":"https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","medicine","Technology","Israel","study","Science topic","Virus","Bacteria","doctors","blood","antibiotics","infection"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6dccdeb45c7d4385/69878449e20a872dafa85a55/antibiotics-virus-bacteria-blood-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6dccdeb45c7d4385/69878449e20a872dafa85a55/antibiotics-virus-bacteria-blood-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"In this image provided by Duke University, lab research analyst Marshall Nichols does research relating to a new blood test on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in Durham, N.C.","caption":"In this image provided by Duke University, lab research analyst Marshall Nichols does research relating to a new blood test on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in Durham, N.C.","creditText":"Shawn Rocco—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3750414/antibiotics-overprescribe-bacterial-viral-infections-immunoxper/","name":"A New Blood Test Could Stop Doctors From Overprescribing Antibiotics"}}]}] ```