Multiplex Nucleic Acid Detection Devices for the Diagnosis of Respiratory Viruses

说明(申请人提供)：流感病毒感染是人类以及野生和驯养动物物种主要发病率和死亡率的原因。根据病毒在人类和非人类物种中的持续遗传进化，人类与流感相关的发病率和死亡率每年都很明显。在过去的几年里，在野生和家禽种群中出现了几种高致病性甲型流感(H5N1)毒株。这些病毒已经传播给人类，是一系列零星的、以鸟传人为主的传播事件。感染这些高致病性H5N1毒株的男性死亡率为33%-100%。到目前为止，人与人之间传播的案例很难记录下来，但人们非常担心，随着时间的推移，病毒的不断演变可能会改变病原体的传播力。准确监测动物和人类种群中流行的流感病毒株将极大地提高我们预测和应对传统和高致病性流感病毒株和其他逆转录病毒株传播和/或演变的能力。在这项应用中，加州大学圣地亚哥分校和科罗拉多州博尔德市精密光子学公司的病毒学家、微生物遗传学家、基因阵列专家和物理学家组成的合作小组建议开发一种新的、强大的诊断平台，该平台能够以低成本、高灵敏度和快速吞吐量检测生物液中的呼吸道病毒核酸。建议对这项技术进行改进，以便能够表征检测到的流感病毒的血凝素和神经氨酸酶亚型、对抗病毒化合物的敏感性以及是否存在目标致病基序。该平台可以扩展到包括人类的其他呼吸道病毒，也可以进行修改，用于家畜或野生动物种群的兽医使用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Influenza viral infections are a cause of major morbidity and mortality in humans as well as in wild and domesticated animal species. Influenza-related morbidity and mortality in humans is manifest on a yearly basis on the basis of ongoing genetic evolution of he virus in human and non-human species. Over the last several years, several strains of highly pathogenic Influenza A (H5N1) have arisen in wild and domestic bird populations. These viruses have already been transmitted to humans is a series sporadic predominantly bird-to-man transmission events. Infection with these highly pathogenic strains of H5N1 have been associated with mortality rates in man of 33 -100%. To date, cases of man-to-man spread have been difficult to document but there are substantial concerns that ongoing evolution of the virus might modify the transmissability of the agent over time. Accurate monitoring of circulating influenza strains in animal and human populations will greatly enhance our ability to anticipate and respond to the spread and/or evolution of both traditional and highly pathogenic strains of influenza and other retroviruses. In this application a collaborative group of virologists, microbial geneticists, genetic array experts, and physicists based at the University of California, San Diego and Precision Photonics in Boulder, Colorado propose to develop a novel and robust diagnostic platform that is capable of detecting respiratory virus nucleic acids in biological fluids at low cost, high sensitivity and rapid throughput. Refinements of the technology are proposed that will enable characterization of detected influenza viruses as to hemagglutinin and neuraminidase subtype, susceptibility to antiviral compounds and presence of targeted pathogenicity motifs. The platform can be expanded to include other respiratory viruses of man and could also be modified for veterinary use in either domestic or wild animal populations.