The Challenge
Today, Americans are facing even more challenging public health situations. The country is still insufficiently prepared to protect people from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or acts of bioterrorism, leaving Americans unnecessarily vulnerable to these threats. Serious gaps exist in the nation’s ability to safeguard health, therefore putting our families, communities, states and our nation at risk.

Even though America spends more than $2 trillion annually on health care—more than any other nation in the world—we do not have the healthiest people. The money of health spending goes toward medical care and biomedical research, and public health and disease prevention. Yet tens of millions of Americans suffer every day from preventable illnesses and chronic diseases that rob them of health and quality of life.

Poor health is putting the nation’s economic security in jeopardy. The skyrocketing costs of health care threaten to bankrupt American businesses, causing some companies to send jobs to other countries where costs are lower. Helping people to stay healthy and better manage illnesses are the best ways to drive down health care costs. Keeping the American workforce well helps American business remain competitive in the global economy.

The Strategy
A strong public health system and public policies focused on prevention of disease and injury are a critical part of the solution.

Baby boomers may be the first generation to live less healthy lives than their parents. The major disease problems of our time will not be solved within our current clinical care system through more expensive technology and more intensive treatment. What we need is rapid, accurate, yet cost efficient technologies to identify the resources for disease outbreak, therefore, preventing them from spreading across the entire nation.

The Tools
In the past couple of decades, technology revolution in molecular biology, computer science, biochemistry, and in the micro electronics field had helped make various innovative bio-instruments possible, and affordable. Technologies such as Real-Time PCR, RT-PCR, Sequencing, ELISA, Bio-electrode, Mess Spectrometry, HPLC, and Micro Array has been widely used in the area of epidemic virus identification, food pathogen inspection, forensics, cancer prediction, and anti-bioterrorism.

These modernized technologies have already, and  are performing a critical role in the frontline of fighting disease outbreaks, such as the SARS outbreak in 2002, the avian flu outbreak in 2003, and probably the most recognized is the more recent pandemic H1N1 flu epidemic.…
“On April 27, 2009, the FDA issued a letter authorizing the emergency use of the Swine Influenza Virus Real-time RT-PCR Detection Panel (RT-PCR Swine Flu Panel) for the presumptive diagnosis of swine influenza A (H1N1).  A letter authorizing the emergency use of the RT-PCR Swine Flu Panel is being reissued in its entirety with the amendments, as requested by CDC…”

“…The award-winning BAX® detection system is a fast and accurate method for detecting pathogens or other organisms in food and environmental samples. The system breaks down samples at the genetic level, using the power of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect bacteria and other microbes with certainty…”

History has demonstrated that if repaid, an accurate diagnosis is available at the early stage of the outbreak, and it can significantly reduce the lethal threat to the public health.

Applied Gene’s Action
Applied Gene thrives to help Americans avoid disease outbreaks by providing a cutting-edge molecular biological detection services for rapid and accurate detection of pathogenic bacteria, epidemic viruses, heritable genetic disorders, etc.