Multiplex Nucleic Acid Detection Devices for the Diagnosis of Respiratory Viruses

描述（由申请人提供）：流感病毒感染是人类以及野生和家养动物主要发病和死亡的原因。根据人类和非人类物种中病毒的持续遗传进化，人类中与流感相关的发病率和死亡率每年都很明显。在过去几年中，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，是一系列散发的主要由鸟向人传播的事件。感染这些高致病性H5N1毒株与人类死亡率为33% -100%有关。迄今为止，很难记录人与人之间传播的病例，但人们非常担心，随着时间的推移，病毒的持续进化可能会改变病原体的传播性。准确监测动物和人群中流行的流感毒株将大大提高我们预测和应对传统和高致病性流感毒株和其他逆转录病毒的传播和/或演变的能力。在这个应用程序中，一个由病毒学家、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，来自加州大学圣地亚哥分校和科罗拉多州博尔德市的精密光子公司，提议开发一种新颖而强大的诊断平台，能够以低成本、高灵敏度和快速吞吐量检测生物体液中的呼吸道病毒核酸。提出了对该技术的改进，使检测到的流感病毒能够表征血凝素和神经氨酸酶亚型、对抗病毒化合物的易感性和靶向致病性基序的存在。该平台可扩大到包括人的其他呼吸道病毒，也可进行修改以供家畜或野生动物群体的兽医使用。

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.