Dovel Supports AABB with the Development and Launch of Blood Donation Surveillance Network for Zika Virus

October 18, 2016 McLean, VA. – Dovel Technologies announced today that they have successfully supported their partner, AABB, in the development of a biovigilance tool for AABB’s newly created Zika Virus Biovigilance Network.  AABB’s Network is actively tracking data on Zika testing under FDA investigational new drug-approved (IND) Zika virus screening tests for suspected reactive blood donations across the U.S.   This tool will be instrumental in helping the blood community and public health officials monitor the spread of Zika virus.  AABB’s Zika Virus Biovigilance Network is the first network to gather data on Zika testing under IND for blood donations and notify blood centers in the network of each initially reactive test result in real time.

In collaboration with AABB, Dovel provided the technical support and expertise to develop the functionality for the Zika Biovigilance Network. The web-based application is intended to disseminate information to blood collection organizations, transfusion medicine professionals, persons interested in the epidemiology of the Zika virus, and the public.  The tool includes a role-based application with geospatial capabilities, allowing possible and confirmed cases to be visually mapped to geographic locations by zip code. The Zika map, which is accessible to the public, identifies areas within the U.S. where potential Zika-reactive donors have been detected.  Additionally, the Network provides real-time alerts of initially reactive test results to blood collection centers and testing laboratories that have requested notifications.  The application has been designed to be highly available and resilient, while extremely cost effective.  The design was achieved via Dovel’s ‘Cloud First’ architecture strategy that fully leverages Amazon Web Services technical infrastructure to provide automated scaling and disaster recovery along with continuous monitoring of all system components.

At this time, blood collection establishments are using one of two available investigational nucleic acid tests (NAT) approved by the FDA to screen for Zika virus. Recently, the FDA released revised guidance recommending universal testing of donated Whole Blood and blood components for Zika virus in the U.S. and its territories. The Network provides an additional safety measure to help protect the U.S. blood supply.

Dovel has a long history of supporting critical Public Health Information Systems with expertise that extends from research, investigations and laboratory testing, through bed-side care delivery and public health surveillance capabilities.

“Dovel is pleased to be supporting our partner AABB on such a critical biovigilance program,” said Paul Leslie, Dovel CEO.  “Modern technology plays a critical role in protecting our nation’s public health and helping to track, monitor and ultimately find treatments and cures for emerging diseases.  The Zika Biovigilance Network is a great example of technology and science working hand-in-hand to rapidly meet our public health needs in responding to an emerging threat.”

The Zika Biovigilance Network public map can be accessed at http://www.aabb.org/research/hemovigilance/Pages/zika.aspx

.About Dovel

Dovel Technologies delivers technology solutions for complex business and regulatory environments. We enable customers to communicate, access, and store mission critical information and that leverages the domain knowledge and expertise of our team members to advance the goals of our clients, including addressing the most difficult public health challenges faced today.