DNA test can help identify pneumonia in severe COVID-19 patients: Study PTI London: Cambridge scientists have developed a simple DNA test that can quickly identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients, who have double the risk of developing pneumonia while on ventilation. Mechanical ventilation is often the only way to keep patients with the most severe forms of COVID-19 alive, as doctors use anti-inflammatory therapies to treat their inflamed lungs, the researchers said. However, these patients are susceptible to further infections from bacteria and fungi that they may acquire while in hospital –- so called ‘ventilator-associated pneumonia’. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have developed a DNA test to quickly identify these infections and target antibiotic treatment as needed.