Aquagenx Water Quality Test Protects Populations from Contaminated Drinking Water In Aftermath of Natural Disasters

    CHAPEL HILL, NC, July 29, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Aquagenx, a provider of innovative microbiological water quality testing products that detect potential health risks, supplies its Compartment Bag Test (CBT) to major NGOs and humanitarian relief organizations that test water quality for bacteriological contamination following large scale natural disasters in different parts of the world.

The CBT is a sought-after water quality test kit that determines the extent of E. coli bacteria in drinking water sources and supplies carried by sewage, septage and fecal matter as a result of disasters such as earthquakes, floods and typhoons.

Most recently, the CBT is being used in Nepal after the major earthquake that occurred in April 2015, and in Malaysia following severe flooding that began in December 2014. In December 2013, the CBT was requested by the Government of the Philippines to help ensure safe drinking water following Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Jay Matta, Water and Sanitation Coordinator for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Asia Pacific Zone, says "The CBT lets us mobilize resources and make informed decisions very quickly in the face of a disaster. We will continue to use the CBT in other disaster settings because of its ease of use and handling, low cost and efficiency."

The IFRC documented its use of the CBT in Malaysia, and also used the test in Nepal following the earthquake in April.

Optimized for testing potential drinking water contamination in disaster response, CBT Kits are ideal for widespread deployment in disaster settings because they do not require resources that are unavailable or limited in disaster settings such electricity, incubators or laboratories. CBT Kits are also extremely portable and compact.

"Safe drinking-water, along with adequate sanitation, is one of the most important public health requirements following disasters and in most emergencies," says Lisa Hirsh of Aquagenx. "The greatest waterborne risk to health in the aftermath of a disaster comes from the transmission of fecal pathogens as a result of inadequate sanitation, hygiene and protection of drinking water sources."

Continues Hirsh, "The CBT overcomes all the obstacles other water quality tests present in disaster situations because they are so resource-dependent, difficult to use and less portable. Our test even does away with sending water samples to laboratories, which are often inaccessible in disaster areas when infrastructure is damaged and destroyed."

Both Aquagenx products, the CBT I Kit and CBT II Kit, quantify the Most Probable Number (MPN) of E. coli bacteria in a 100 mL water sample according to World Health Organization recommendations for water quality testing. Anyone can follow simple steps to generate easy-to-score, color-coded, quantitative test results.

Aquagenx works with NGOs and humanitarian/emergency responders to ensure water-related emergency preparedness and agile disaster supply programs for safe drinking water.

For information on how to work with Aquagenx in emergency preparedness for safe drinking water, contact [email protected] or call 1+919-590-0343.

About Aquagenx:

Aquagenx provides innovative water quality testing products that detect potential health risks, and help eliminate waterborne diseases and the millions of annual deaths caused by water contaminated by fecal bacteria.

The Compartment Bag Test (CBT) was developed by Dr. Mark D. Sobsey at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. Aquagenx is the spin-out company from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to commercialize the CBT.

The CBT has versatile applications in low resource and disaster settings for water quality testing by individuals in developing countries, government agencies, the military, NGOs, humanitarian response organizations, water utilities and disaster/emergency responders. The test is also effective for agricultural and recreational waters and private wells.

# # #