BioMérieux, a leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, begins its sixth tour across the United States and Canada to provide industry professionals with innovative training in advanced diagnostics solutions that can improve public health in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

 tractor trailer, equipped with a mobile diagnostics laboratory, will tell the story of the evolution of superbugs and just how resistant they have become, while bringing laboratory automation, diagnostic solutions and product training directly to customers. 

The Odyssey tour was developed to build awareness of superbugs and present solutions to prevent the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus) and C. difficile. These organisms pose an increasing threat to public health and affect more than 1.7 million Americans each year.(1) A paper published by Roberts, et al. in October 2009, reported the impact of antibiotic resistant infections in a Chicago teaching hospital.  Excess duration of hospital stay was 6.4 days to 12.7 days and the attributable mortality was 6.5 percent. The societal costs were $10.7 million to $15 million. Using the lowest estimates from their sensitivity analysis resulted in a total cost of $13.35 million in 2008 dollars from a single facility.(2)

BioMérieux provides diagnostic products (reagents, instruments, software) to clinical laboratories as well as biopharmaceutical and agrifood industry laboratories. The bioMérieux Odyssey tour will visit more than 40 cities across North America in major metropolitan areas, stopping at regional tradeshows and educational events to bring the latest in laboratory automation and infectious diseases solutions directly to the end user.  

BioMérieux’s Odyssey is outfitted with the latest innovations that support Full Microbiology Lab Automation (FMLATM), www.biomerieux-usa.com/fmla including information for a Lean Lab assessment with Guidon Performance Solutions. Given the shortage of skilled labor in laboratories coupled with the increasing demands for technologies to test for the growing number of antibiotic resistance organisms, the need for new diagnostic equipment to support lean workflows is greater than ever. The Lean Lab assessment coupled with bioMérieux’s range of FMLA testing platforms ensures microbiology labs maximize their operational efficiency and deliver their test results to physicians with greater speed for better patient management. The Odyssey will feature a range of diagnostic systems that encompass the pre-analyticial, analytical and post-analytical processes, which can optimize lab technician time for more valuable tasks or interpretation of results to clinicians.

The Odyssey tour also features food-testing platforms, which help protect consumers from dangerous, and sometimes deadly, organisms such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 that can contaminate the food supply. 

“At bioMérieux, we have a long-standing commitment to fighting antimicrobial resistance, which is a serious public health threat. Reducing the emergence and spread of superbugs is a global challenge, that concerns all of us,” said Thierry Bernard, corporate vice president of global commercial operations for bioMérieux. “Many laboratories are faced with financial constraints that make travel to tradeshows difficult. The Odyssey tour provides the opportunity to bring our latest innovations directly to our customers’ doorsteps with presentations, hands-on training and education to raise the awareness about superbugs.”

1. Klevens, R. Monina, DDS, MPH, et al. 2007. Estimating Health Care-Associated Infections and deaths in U.S. Hospitals, 2002. Public Health Reports, Vol. 122. March - April 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/hicpac/infections_deaths.pdf

2. Roberts R. et al. Hospital and Societal Costs of Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections in a Chicago Teaching Hospital: Implications for Antibiotic Stewardship. Clinical Infectious Disease 2009;49:1175-84.