Field Diagnostics for Pathogen Identification and Surveillance

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Project Summary — Project 2 Approximately two-thirds of suspected VHF patients referred to our VHF Wards in Sierra Leone and Nigeria test negative for either Lassa virus (LASV) or Ebola virus (EBOV) infection. In our clinical practices we consider these patients to have a fever of unknown origin (FUO). Next generation genomics analyses will be used in Project 1 to define the range of microbial pathogens inducing febrile illnesses in patients presenting to three established VHF clinical sites across West Africa. Project 2 will extend these studies by transferring technical expertise for designing and validating field deployable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based nucleic acid assays and recombinant antigen based immunoassays. In Milestone 1 we will transfer technology and provide training for the development and validation of field deployable quantitative PCR tests for known and novel pathogens to enhance clinical care. Transfer of technology and training for the development and validation of field deployable immunoassays for known and novel pathogens to allow for rapid diagnosis across many sites will be provided in Milestone 2. In Milestone 3 we will perform sample collection, surveillance and investigation of the epidemiology of known and novel pathogens in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The availability of these diagnostic assays will improve clinical care, and enable enhanced surveillance and investigation of the epidemiology of known and novel viruses, as well as other microbial pathogens contributing to the infectious disease burden in West Africa.