There is an alternative, currently private, company in Utah, M-Vac Systems, that has a sampling device that was originally designed for the sampling of porous and textured surfaces, to enable a better detection of pathogens, including viruses, in the food processing plants.
Currently it's being exploited and marketed to Law Enforcement for DNA sampling (it's felt that the food processing industry is hesitant to use such an effective pathogen sampling tool because it might require higher standards of cleanliness)..
Hands down this is the best pathogen and DNA sampling device on the market. Just last year it pulled sufficient "touch DNA" off of a rock that had been kept in evidence for 18 years and led to the arrest and conviction of a man who had murdered a young woman in Utah.
forensicmag.com
sltrib.com
It has been tested on simulated rape victims in a study where the "victim" takes a shower after having human saliva deposited on their skin.. Even after the shower, M-Vac was able to obtain sufficient DNA profiles of the "assailant" from the residual saliva (and likely seminal fluid)..
m-vac.com
m-vac.com
But external detection of Ebola is something that is just now being investigated after the nurse in Spain apparently contaminated herself by touching her face with her gloves. We have little doubt that M-Vac, used after the exposure, it would have been able to provide a sufficient sample that could have permitted detection of the Ebola virus exposure to her skin.
Also, given M-Vac's ability to pull DNA and pathogen samples off of clothing and fabrics, as well as deeply textured surfaces, it's believe it would serve well as a sterility verification tool in conducting spot checks of large areas of potentially, or actually, contaminated surfaces.
Bottom line, to have a rapid test for Ebola, one has to have the best possible sample to test. M-Vac does that.
Although a private company at this time, I'm posting this here in case others are reading and understand the value of such a system.
m-vac.com
This is a dated study that the Bundewehr (German Army) conducted related to detecting other viruses and pathogens. At the time M-Vac was still in prototype stage, but now it is commercially available.
m-vac.com
m-vac.com
m-vac.com
Thank you for your time and attention to this..
Btw.. I'm long SMED.. .hehe (and in the interest of disclosure, I have a private investment in M-Vac)..
Hawk |
