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Show Tilltop HILLTOP TIMES 1 0 TIME S November 6, 2014 FDA approves rapid Ebola test by Utah company BY JAMIE LAMPROS Hilltop Times correspondent S ALT LAKE CITY — A Utah company has received emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two new tests that detect the Ebola virus in about one hour. BioFire Defense is using FilmArray BioThreatE, the first commercial Ebola test to be authorized for emergency use on patients showing signs and symptoms of the disease. The test can find genetic markers through blood, saliva or other bodily fluids. It can also be used by laboratories designated by the U.S. Department of Defense. Over 300 hospitals are already using the diagnostic device to detect other conditions in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract. "We believe that a fast, easy to use and accurate Ebola test will help in the fight against this horrible virus," said Kirk Ririe, CEO of BioFire Defense. "We are pleased that years of collaboration with the Department of Defense, FDA and other federal agencies have helped make this possible." The company said the BioFire FilmArray system is a highly accurate, fast, and easy to use clinical molecular biology diagnostic device. The system is capable of identifying hundreds of the most prevalent viruses, fungi, bacteria, and parasites associated with common patient infectious diseases in one hour, allowing health professionals to make treatment decisions $240 million, eight-year contract with the DoD to expand FilmArray's diagnostic menu by developing biological threat testing capabilities for use across four branches of the military. The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa, according to the CDC. Two imported cases, including one death, and two locally acquired cases in healthcare workers have been reported in the United States. faster. Other Ebola testing methods. including those used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, take 24-48 hours. "The FilmArray system is in routine use in over 300 hospitals," said Randy Rasmussen, CEO of BioFire Diagnostics. "The rapid authorization of emergency use of the FilmArray Ebola test by FDA instantly creates an extensive Ebola testing network in the United States." Last March, BioFire Defense was awarded a A person infected with the virus, which is spread through bodily fluids, can begin showing symptoms between two and 21 days after exposure. Those symptoms include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising. Many Utah hospitals and clinics are now asking patients at the time they check in for their appointment if they have traveled to West Africa within the past three weeks. Defense Department officials establish Ebola medical support team BY TECH. SGT. CHRIS POWELL AIRMAN Magazine S AN ANTONIO — When Capt. Stacey Morgan's squadron commander sent her a text message saying that she needed to immediately call him, her first thought was, "Uh-oh. What did I do?" But after a minute or two of talking to her commander, her apprehension was quickly replaced by anxious excitement, as he asked her to become a member of a 30-person military Ebola medical support team. "I was thankfully in the car with my husband at the time, so he was already overhearing it, but he was super supportive and I said I would be happy to (join the team)," said Morgan, who's an intensive care unit nurse at San Antonio Military Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The team was created when senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services requested assistance from the Department of Defense in late October. Soon after, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered U.S. Northern Command to establish a military team of members from the Air Force, Army and Navy that could quickly respond to provide short-notice assistance to civilian medical facilities in the event of additional Ebola cases in the United States. "I think the nation always turns to the military in difficult times. It's up to us to live up to that trust," said Navy Cmdr. James Lawler, the chief of the clinical research department at the Naval Medical Research Center's Bio Defense Research Directorate at Fort Detrick, Maryland. "I think, in general, doing good patient care in difficult situations is what the military medical system always does, so that mission is not unfamiliar to us, and we're ready to go if that call comes in for this particular instance." Morgan is one of 10 critical care nurses on the medical support team, which also has 10 noncritical care, in-patient nurses; five physicians with infectious disease, internal medicine and critical care experience; and five members who specialize in infection control. In all, there are six Air Force Medical Service members on the support team. "They're prepared to provide full-spectrum Ebola patient care from the point (the patients) are diagnosed to when they are discharged from the hospi- You've Always Set Your Sights Higher FEDVIP Open Season: November 10— December 8, 2014 So aim high, and sign up for vision benefits during open season. Federal employees eligible for FEHB coverage, whether or not enrolled, and annuitants are eligible to enroll. TRICARE enrollees are eligible to participate in the tal," said Col. John DeGoes, the command surgeon for U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. "They could work side by side with a civilian medical staff and could relieve them if needed." Lawler has firsthand experience in treating Ebola patients. He worked in an isolation treatment unit in Conakry, Guinea, earlier this year, and he has shared his knowledge with the team. "Things have evolved significantly because of this outbreak. We're really rewriting the textbook on Ebola virus disease because we've seen so many more cases in this outbreak," he said. "I think one feature of the disease, which has been recognized more widely and appreciated more in contributing to the mortality and morbidity from the disease is the diarrhea and incredibly amount of fluid loss due to the disease and electrolyte abnormalities." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest in history, with more than 10,000 total cases and nearly 5,000 deaths worldwide. 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