BioCheck Powder Screening Test Kit

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Myles Flynn
6 years ago
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1 BioCheck Powder Screening Test Kit

2 Bioterrorism: Renewed Threats Wednesday, May 19, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP) The top intelligence official at the Homeland Security Department, worried about an increased risk of attack in coming months, says Al Qaeda wants to strike on U.S. soil with something other than a conventional explosive perhaps with a chemical or biological weapon Retired Lt. Gen. Patrick Hughes worries about chemical and biological attacks, including a dirty bomb. And, in particular, he points to the possibility of another anthrax biological attack, following the one that wreaked havoc on the postal system, closed a Senate building for three months and killed five in "It's not the only one," Hughes said of that possibility, but anthrax is easy to produce and disperse, he said, noting that the recipes for it and the deadly poison, ricin, are on the Internet. "It's not hard to do."

3 1 Real Threat = 1,000 False Alarms Powdered Sugar; Flour Cornstarch Cosmetics Drywall Dust

4 Needs of first responders Reliable results (low false positive and negative) Reasonable price Speed in obtaining results Ease of use Long shelf life & robust

5 Limitations of Existing Field Tests Require Instrumentation ($$$) Different tests Needed for each agent (Ricin, Anthrax, etc.) ($$$) Complex to use Not easily scalable Short shelf life: not robust False positive = Panic!

6 Needed Simple, reliable, disposable, inexpensive, test to quickly rule out most of the substances that the public suspects might be bio-terror agents

7 BioCheck Powder Screening Test Kit Indicates the presence or absence of protein in suspicious powders through a simple color change. A simple chemical test for protein: a change to purple in the test tube indicates a possible biothreat. ph test provides additional information (bioterrorist materials are more likely to be of physiological (neutral) ph.

8 BioCheck Powder Screening Test Kit BioCheck simultaneously screens for the bio-terror agents anthrax, ricin and botulinum toxin in 10 minutes or less.

9 BioCheck Kit Protocol

10 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step Confirm that product has not passed expiration date (on front of box) before using.

11 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step Tubes and swabs should be at or near room temperature before deployment

12 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step Do not confuse the Protein Detection swab (used first to collect and test the sample) with the Protein Control swab (used as a positive control to confirm a negative result for protein).

13 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step The ph test does not provide an answer to the question Is this a possible bioterror agent? (This is the function of the protein test). Rather, it provides additional information about the substance being tested

14 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step Be sure to read the result within 15 minutes of transferring the sample to the tube. Warmer temperatures will cause the reactions to proceed more quickly; lower temperatures will slow the reaction rates.

BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step NOTE: A positive is the appearance of a purple color in the solution (not just on the swab or on the powder sample) NOTE: A positive (purple color in the

15 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step NOTE: A positive is the appearance of a purple color in the solution (not just on the swab or on the powder sample) NOTE: A positive (purple color in the Protein test solution) does not necessarily indicate the presence of a bioterror agent: merely the need for further testing. In actual 911 calls, 87% of substances were negative for protein.

16 BioCheck Protocol: Step by Step If the Positive Control Swab does NOT cause a negative protein test to turn positive (purple) repeat testing with another BioCheck Kit or test with a different methodology

17 BioCheck Result Summary Chart The ph test is advisory: high and low ph materials are less likely to be biological in origin. The protein result determines the proper course of action, no matter what the ph result Protein result Control result ph result Conclusion Positive n/a Any Positive: protein is present Negative Positive Any Negative: Follow local protocol Negative Negative Any Invalid Test Result

18 Examples of Positive and Negative Substances (Protein) Protein Negative Dangerous chemical agents OR Sugar (powdered) Plaster dust Salt Corn starch Dry wall dust Protein Positive Biological warfare agents OR Yeast Pancake mix Corn meal

19 Proven in the Field In more than calls in 2002, more than 85% of substances tested were NEGATIVE for protein ruling out a bio-terror agent. The product has been successfully tested against Anthrax and simulants Hundreds of first responder agencies using BioCheck nationwide: the kit has been incorporated into SOPs for responding to suspicious powder calls.

20 Threat Assessment Visual Assessment PID Screening Radiological Screening Example of Field SOP Chem Warfare Agent Screening If warranted 20/20 Protein-pH Test If NEG Protein-Hi/Lo PH Sensor IR Screening If POS Protein-Neutral ph Prime Alert Microbe Test If POSITIVE Tetracore Strips (5 tests) If Airborne use Mesosystems Air Sampler If POS Notify SP Ops, MPD & FBI Prepare sample for Lab (SWAB) Bag Item for evidence (Triple bag) Do Not Perform Site/Evidence Decon until Investigation is complete Any POS indication shall be reconfirmed by a minimum of two (2) methods no samples are confirmed positive without laboratory confirmation!

21 For more information: Ph: hour:

Daniel R. Polanski Georgia Department of Public Health CBRN-E 40 Pryor Street Atlanta, GA (Blackberry) (Alt Cell)

Daniel R. Polanski Georgia Department of Public Health CBRN-E 40 Pryor Street Atlanta, GA 30114 404-736-8037 (Blackberry) 770-231-2905(Alt Cell) DRPolanski@dhr.state.ga.us Acts as an on scene liaison between