Cepheid’s updated Winter Care Bundle of Xpert® molecular diagnostic tests is an essential tool kit in the battle against virulent infections.

Consisting of the Xpert Norovirus, Xpert C. difficile BT, Xpert Carba-R, Xpert vanA/vanB and Xpert Flu/RSV XC rapid tests for the GeneXpert® System, it offers on-demand RT­PCR testing to help avoid preventable ward closures and avert a winter care crisis.

Molecular diagnostic testing with Cepheid’s GeneXpert System provides rapid, accurate diagnoses, minimising the impact on hospital resources by enabling immediate implementation of infection control procedures and initiation of appropriate treatment. Offering results in just 45 to 90 minutes, the Winter Care Bundle can help to prevent the spread of disease and improve patient management, as well as antibiotic and antiviral stewardships, reducing the potential burden of viral outbreaks. The new Xpert C. difficile BT not only returns results for toxins A and B, but also reports binary toxin status independently. This helps to detect a wider range of hypervirulent strains and track novel strains that are negative for toxins A and B, but positive for CDT. Xpert C. difficile BT is complemented by Xpert Norovirus – which can efficiently detect and differentiate between norovirus GI and GII – and Xpert vanA/vanB, offering effective surveillance for both the vanA and vanB vancomycin-resistance operons. Xpert Carba-R is designed to identify the most prevalent carbapenemase gene families (KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP-1, OXA-48, OXA-181 and OXA-232), and Xpert Flu/RSV XC – a multiplexed test for fast and accurate differentiation of Flu A, Flu B and respiratory syncytial virus – completes the Winter Care Bundle.

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About Cepheid
Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) is a leading molecular diagnostics company that is dedicated to improving healthcare by developing, manufacturing, and marketing accurate yet easy-to-use molecular systems and tests. By automating highly complex and time-consuming manual procedures, the company's solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to perform sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer. For more information, visit www.cepheid.com.

About GeneXpert Systems and Xpert Tests
With more than 10,000 systems in 182 countries, the GeneXpert System is the world's most popular molecular diagnostics' instrument.  The GeneXpert System's modular configuration means that the system is the most scalable available, offering the ability to perform from one to eighty Xpert tests at the same time.  As a result, the GeneXpert System meets the throughput requirements of customers of all sizes - from lower volume point-of-care settings to higher volume reference laboratories - enabling accurate, fast and cost effective test results.
GeneXpert Systems run proprietary Xpert test cartridges.  The Xpert test menu spans healthcare-associated infections, sexual health, critical infectious disease, and oncology, and today offers 23 tests outside the US, and 20 tests in the US.  More information on the GeneXpert System and the Xpert tests is available on our website at www.cepheid.com.