Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Paige McInnis
Secondary Department: Public Health Services
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Fisher Scientific Company LLC
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent for approval of a sole source exemption from the competitive bid requirements for Fisher Scientific Company LLC in the amount of $80,018 for mosquito control qPCR testing supplies for Public Health Services.
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Background and Discussion:
Harris County has one of the only MVC divisions with in-house laboratory testing in the nation. We are unique and lead in our capacity to have multiple surveillance programs, providing diverse samples to our lab for testing. With haste lab results inform field operations who take appropriate steps to impact vectors in our community. Our testing and evaluation of vector-borne disease pathogens requires specific testing reagents that our lab services manager designed, validated, and used to test samples. These testing reagents are organized into multi-plexus, panels, or individual assays designed to optimize resources and enhance our testing strategy for various vectors.
In 2024, we tested 9,288 pools of mosquitoes and identified 680 positive samples. This does not include testing conducted on live and dead avian reservoirs collected from our community. To further safeguard Harris County residents, we continue to expand surveillance into ports where vectors and pathogens can enter our community. These testing supplies are expensive, they require extensive QA/QC from the vendor before they arrive for our optimization. Thus, this purchase request is for the acquisition of reagents, laboratory supplies, and custom oligonucleotides necessary to conduct quantitative PCR (qPCR) testing. This testing is part of MVCD surveillance efforts in Harris County. These materials will detect vector-borne pathogens and support ongoing public health monitoring and vector surveillance initiatives. This testing process supports the detection of pathogens with increased sensitivity, specificity, and a lower turnaround time. This means we have increased our ability to serve the community by detecting disease with both speed and precision. Once disease is detected MVCD can take appropriate action to impact vector populations via pesticide application. Testing results also impact our outreach team, as we seek to increase educational opportunities in positive areas. This empowers the community with the knowledge and tools to minimize vector habitats, utilizing information from our Tip, Toss, and Take Action public health campaign.
Expected Impact:
(1) Without this approval we will not be able to test vectors, or surveillance samples, for pathogens that can cause disease in humans. Our community may see and increase in the incidence of local transmission of vector-borne disease.
A delay in acquiring testing reagents means that we are not able to detect disease in our community, and residents could be negatively impacted. MVC Division laboratory services tests vectors from all incorporated and unincorporated areas of Harris County, impacting the health and safety of millions of residents.
We would have to decrease the frequency of testing and combine samples to conserve what reagents we have on hand. This could decrease the turnaround time for detecting pathogens and thus impact our ability to treat positive areas with pesticides. Without timely identification of positive areas and subsequent treatment, then infected female mosquitoes could remain positive and spread disease to humans and animals in our community.
(2) Being that Harris County is the 3rd most populated county that includes the 4th largest city and multiple ports of entry, emerging infectious and communicable diseases are a persistent concern. The detection of vector-borne pathogens through molecular surveillance, such as qPCR testing, plays a critical role in early warning systems for vector-borne disease outbreaks. Timely identification of pathogens enables public health authorities to implement targeted control measures, allocate resources more effectively, and mitigate the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus, Saint Louis Encephalitis virus, Dengue virus, Chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. By integrating this surveillance into broader public health strategies, Harris County can reduce disease transmission risk, protect vulnerable populations, and enhance the overall responsiveness and preparedness of local health systems.
Alternative Options:
If we are unable to use Fisher Scientific as a vendor, we will have to work to design, optimize, and validate new testing platforms/reagents with a different vendor. Any slight change in testing reagents can impact the testing process, prolonging the optimization of our internal labs function. This process could take months to years depending on the quality of the product(s) needed for laboratory services testing.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: O: Increase access to quality health care, including preventive and behavioral health.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any): N/A
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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$81,018.04 |
$80,018.04 |
$80,018.04 |
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$81,018.04 |
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$81,018.04 |
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Anticipated Court Date: 8/7/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Dr. Courtney Standlee, Interim Director of MVC Division, HCPH Department; Richard Pena, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter