Pseudalert is an ‘easy-to-use test’ to facilitate the rapid identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospital water systems.
The system uses ‘an innovative Bacterial Enzyme Technology’ to identify P. aeruginosa, giving either a presence/ absence, or a quantified result, in 24 hours, reportedly ‘half the time taken by traditional laboratory culture methods’.
The test sees a powder added to a standard 100 mL water sample, and then incubated at 38˚C for 24 hours to determine presence or absence. No media preparation is necessary, and the reagents come in ready-to-use, unitdosed packaging. Pseudalert detects P. aeruginosa at levels as low as 1 cfu.
Quantification of bacterial contamination is undertaken using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray, a specifically designed, multi-well plate which enumerates bacteria in water samples. Once the water sample is collected, the pre-dosed powder is added to the sample container, agitated, and poured in to the Quanti-Tray, which is then sealed to create discrete cells where the reaction takes place. After 24 hours’ incubation, the number of cells which fluoresce under UV light is counted to determine the level of contamination using the most probable number, or MPN, method.
The test can be carried out in a laboratory, or set up ‘with minimal capital expenditure’ within a healthcare facility for ‘in-house’ testing.
