Yesterday DuPont announced the availability of three new DuPont™ Biosecurity Kits for businesses seeking assistance with reducing the spread of viruses or bacteria.

Originally developed by DuPont as an element in its disease preparedness plan for its own employees, the DuPont™ Personal Biosecurity Kits  and the DuPont™ Worksite Biosecurity Kits now are available to other organizations interested in maintaining the well-being of employees and ensuring business continuity in the event of a disease outbreak.  In addition, the company is making available the DuPont™ Biosecurity Kit for the Farm to help prevent and control the spread of viruses in the farm environment.

“For more than 200 years, DuPont has been delivering both innovations and “know-how” that make people’s lives safer and better,” said Nick Fanandakis , vice president and general manager, DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise.  “For some companies, it is simple to transition employees from working in the office to working from home.  But when workers’ jobs require a high degree of personal contact, working from home is not an option.  For these companies, the DuPont™ Worksite Biosecurity Kit can be an effective piece of a larger plan to reduce employee exposure to a broad range of viruses and bacteria and keep their businesses staffed and running.”

The DuPont™ Personal and Worksite Biosecurity Kits were developed to help users comply with the four primary non-pharmacological measures that reduce the spread of germs:

• Covering nose and mouth to reduce large droplet spread
• Effective hand hygiene
• Surface disinfection
• Reduction of person-to-person contact through early diagnosis of infection

DuPont has a long history in the field of emergency disease response.  In June, DuPont™ Virkon® S disinfectant and virucide, a key component in the DuPont™ Biosecurity Kit for the Farm, was made available to 69 countries at the request of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help control the spread of avian flu in the farm environment.  In May, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) purchased approximately 75,000 DuPont™ Tychem® garments to be worn by USDA workers while handling infected game and poultry.

In mid-2005, DuPont established an inter-disciplinary team to prepare for the potential impact of an avian flu pandemic on its employees and its business.  The DuPont™ Worksite Biosecurity Kits for corporate environments evolved from these discussions, with the final kit contents based on recommendations of DuPont medical professionals and industrial hygienists.

The DuPont Pandemic Team is in the process of establishing supplies of both the personal and site biosecurity kits, for use at DuPont locations around the world in the event of a pandemic.  They will be stored within each country to enable expedited distribution to employees if needed.  The company also intends to offer DuPont employees, in every country where it is possible, the opportunity to purchase the personal kit at a discount for friends and family.  For more information, visit the DuPont Bird Flu Information Resource.