14 DAY TRIAL // Quickly identifying biological pathogens is a key element in triggering early alarm signals on spreading outbreaks, which have the potential to turn into a pandemic. Having been delayed for many years, such a strategy has now become increasingly necessary, following the massive and rapid spread of the swine flu virus, in more than 40 countries worldwide. Now, a consortium of US research institutes, national laboratories, universities and private sector actors are working on devising better measures of keeping destructive diseases in check and away from the general population.
The first measure in the pack is the automated genotyping system, which is able to keep track of global health through the use of high-throughput technology. The system is the result of a collaboration between the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health, and the company Agilent Technologies. Its main purpose is to determine the genetic sequences of viruses and other pathogens in record-breaking time frames, faster than any technology currently in existence. The $1.7-million machine arrived at the Global Bio Lab at UCLA in May 2009.
“As the recent outbreak of the swine flu shows, we need to do a much more extensive and thorough job of surveillance. This program will provide the world with the tools for this task,” the leader of the High Throughput Laboratory Network (HTLN) project, Dr. Tony Beugelsdijk, from the LANL, explains.
Because the new system will be able to accurately identify the analyzed viral strain in record time, health experts worldwide will focus less on researching the root of the infection, and longer on containment and control strategies, to limit the spread of the disease. However, in today's globalized world, airports make this task nearly impossible, seeing how, within 48 hours, disease carriers could travel around the globe, to any country. The system will reduce some of these risks, by setting forth a unified test methodology, which will essentially eliminate confusion among different science teams.
“This system is the next-generation tool to rapidly and accurately test and identify biological pathogens in mass quantities of samples. Capable of performing tests 100 times faster than any current method, it will provide reliable, real-time data to the global health community. Given current health concerns about the swine flu, the system addressees an immediate and vital need in the public health arena,” Agilent Life Sciences Solutions Unit Vice President and General Manager Nick Roelofs adds.
“The automated genotyping system will vastly increase the speed and volume by which influenza samples are analyzed. The pace of emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the world is increasing and demands new kinds of technologies be created and applied. These technologies will help us to safeguard public health and save lives,” UCLA School of Public Health Professor of Epidemiology Dr. Scott Layne concludes.