Technology Offers Identification, Genotyping, and Characterization of Emerging Organisms

A program with public health applications includes epidemiologic surveillance, monitoring of pandemic diseases, and identification of emerging or previously unknown agents.

The Plex-ID system employs a combination of molecular technologies, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for gene amplification and mass spectrometry analysis to characterize rapidly known and unknown organisms. It is designed to address a significant unmet need by providing test results in six to seven hours instead of three or more days as required with current laboratory methods.

Plex-ID, a product of Abbott (Abbott Park, IL, USA), can identify a broad range of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and certain parasites, and provide information about drug resistance, virulence, and strain type. It has the potential to be a powerful and versatile tool for public health laboratories, according to David N. Sundwall, Ph.D., executive director, Utah Department of Health (UDH; Salt Lake City, UT, USA).

"Plex-ID addresses the complex challenges of microbial identification by detecting and characterizing both known and previously unknown organisms found in a variety of specimens," Dr. Sundwall said. "The high-throughput technology offers our laboratory rapid detection and correct identification of a broad range of pathogens."

Dr. Sundwall added that for disease surveillance, the Plex-ID technology would enable public health officials to track emergent strains as they evolve, mutate, and possibly become more dangerous.

Abbott announced that the Utah Department of Health is one of five sites in the United States to participate in Abbott's new Plex-ID Biopreparedness Evaluation Program (BPEP), which involves Abbott, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL; Silver Spring, MD, USA) and five state public health labs. The announcement was made at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for UDH's new multipurpose, state-of the-art Unified State Lab (USL; Taylorsville, UT, USA), a 7525 m2 facility that houses a variety of public-health laboratories.

In addition to Utah, the evaluation program will be conducted at state public health laboratories in Oklahoma, Minnesota, New York, and Virginia. In 2009, Plex-ID was recognized by both the Scientist and the Wall Street Journal as a top scientific innovation of the year.

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of medical products, diagnostics, and pharmaceutics.

Related Links:
Abbott
Utah Department of Health
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Unified State Lab