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 STAKEHOLDER PANEL ON AGENT DETECTION ASSAYS (SPADA)
SPADA was established by AOAC under a contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2007, SPADA has established standards for PCR based technology for Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei. SPADA has also developed standards for immunological based assays, also known as hand-held assays, for Bacillus anthracis and ricin. The standards published in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL are the result of leveraging stakeholders to reach consensus on method performance requirements for tools and technologies needed by the biological threat agent, public health, and public safety communities. With a goal of developing an enduring national capability, DHS is currently supporting a pilot validation for a PCR-based technology and one hand-held assay. These methods are being validated using the harmonize processes of the AOAC Performance Tested® and Official Methods® Programs. MRIGlobal has developed reference materials and is the laboratory capacity for the validation studies. For more information, contact Deborah McKenzie, Senior Director, Methods Development and Approval Processes, at dmckenzie@aoac.org.
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