Pseudomonas aeruginosa is commonly found in water pipes, and is generally tolerated by healthy people, but poses particular risks for or vulnerable individuals who may be immunocompromised within hospitals, such as the elderly, cancer patients, people in burns units, and infants.
In such patients, P. aeruginosacan cause life-threatening respiratory inflammation and pneumonia, gastrointestinal infections, meningitis, and septicemia
Pseudalert is described as ‘an accurate and rapid detection method’ for P. aeruginosa in water, developed by microbiology testing company, IDEXX. The product was originally introduced to the market as a test for P. aeruginosa in bathing water, but IDEXX undertook extensive independent testing to demonstrate that Pseudalert was equivalent to traditional membrane filtration (agar-based) methods for detection of P. aeruginosa, and complied with HTM 04-01 addendum guidelines.
The test gives confirmed, quantified results within 24 hours, which IDEXX says is ‘less than half the time taken by the standard method’. Pseudalert was the winner of the IHEEM ‘Product Innovation in Healthcare award’ in 2014.
