The IDEXX Pseudalert® and Quanti-Tray® test, used for the 24 hour confirmed enumeration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in drinking water, including bottled water and pool water, has been granted the NF Validation certification, under the reference IDX 33/05-03/16.

The AFNOR certification follows a preliminary study, carried out by an expert laboratory and a second pan European study which included 14 laboratories across 5 countries. The data from both studies was then subjected to rigorous scrutiny by an expert committee made up of stakeholders from regulatory authorities, users from public, private and industrial laboratories, and manufacturers.

The IDEXX Pseudalert test is a rapid method for the detection of P.aeruginosa in drinking and pool water. It was launched in 2012 by IDEXX to complement a growing portfolio of water microbiology testing solutions, for the monitoring of recreational water, where elevated levels of the bacteria can give rise to skin infections. Pseudalert has also been adopted by utilities and the bottled water industry as a fast, effective quality control test.

More recently, Pseudalert has been adopted by hospitals for the screening of water-borne pathogens around vulnerable populations, where P.aeruginosa infections can cause life-threatening conditions including pneumonia, meningitis and septicemia. A confirmed and quantified result can be achieved in 24 hours with Pseudalert, less than half the time taken by standard methods,  allowing results to be determined faster and remedial actions to be taken sooner.

“The new AFNOR validation for Pseudalert means that we can now introduce this award winning product* into the French healthcare market, following our success in the UK, where rapid testing for P.aeruginosa can potentially be life-saving,” commented Andrew Headland, Senior Business Manager, IDEXX. “This latest validation follows last year’s announcement that IDEXX is also the only supplier with AFNOR validated methods for control of both microbiological parameters listed in the EU Bathing water directive 2006/7/EC, for E. coli and enterococci”

The IDEXX Pseudalert test is based on a bacterial enzyme detection technology that signals the presence of P. aeruginosa through the hydrolysis of a substrate in the Pseudalert reagent. P. aeruginosa cells rapidly grow and reproduce using the rich supply of amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients present in the Pseudalert reagent. Actively growing strains of P. aeruginosa have an enzyme that metabolises the substrate in the reagent to produce blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light.

Where quantification of a sample is required, IDEXX has developed a simple device known as a Quanti-Tray, which consists of 51 individually sealable cells. The Quanti-Tray can also be incubated for 24 hours, after which the fluorescent cells can be counted and quantified by reference to the IDEXX MPN table.