UNDT's 5-agent bioterrorism detection kits used by first responders

Universal Detection Technology (www.udetection.com) (OTCBB: UNDT), a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies and counter-terrorism training programs to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats, issued a response today to a growing interest in the security and emergency response communities to immunize first responders most susceptible to anthrax exposure.

“Immunizing first responders goes hand-in-hand with giving them the necessary tools and training to rapidly detect on-site the presence of anthrax or other deadly biogents and respond appropriately”

The issue was brought to the forefront recently at the annual EMS Today Conference in Baltimore, where Dr. Thomas Waytes, vice president at Emergent BioSolutions, raised the question: How can first responders provide necessary medical treatment following an anthrax attack while preserving their own health and safety?

Nasal swabs taken from the first responders on the scene at Senator Tom Daschle’s office following the anthrax letters on October 15, 2001, reveal that some of them had been exposed to the deadly bioweapon.

In the early stage of an inhalational anthrax outbreak, a 1-day delay in the initiation of chemoprophylaxis and treatment of exposed persons can result in thousands of additional deaths and millions of dollars of additional expenditures. Thus, timely detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak is critical. Rapid detection is also important for disease outbreaks that result from other bioterrorism agents. UNDT has developed a range of products to accurately test for the presence of anthrax spores as well as other deadly bioagents. The equipment detects the presence of these agents in as little as 3 minutes with no hook effect.

“Immunizing first responders goes hand-in-hand with giving them the necessary tools and training to rapidly detect on-site the presence of anthrax or other deadly biogents and respond appropriately,” said Jacques Tizabi, CEO of Universal Detection Technology.

“The growing threat of bioterrorism is prompting more industries and organizations to adequately equip themselves with the bioagent detection capabilities,” continued Tizabi.

UNDT's 5-agent bioterrorism detection kits have been used extensively by first responders and private industry throughout the United States. Testing of the kits by the U.S. DoD as well as the United Kingdom military show that the kits demonstrate no cross-reactivity with near neighbor species and no false positives with commonly encountered "white powders". The kits are designed to test for anthrax, botulinum toxin, ricin, plague (Y. Pestis) and SEBs in as little as three minutes.