Deployable Pan-flavivirus and Pan-alphavirus Assays for Screening Pools of Medically Relevant Arthropod

VecTOR Test Systems, Inc will develop assays that can detect a broad range of alphaviruses and a broad range of flaviviruses in arthropod pools in a field setting. In Phase I, feasibility of the concept will be determined by developing a prototype assay(s) that has the potential to detect in a single multiplex format or as two group specific tests, at least three of the alphaviruses and at least two of the flaviviruses. The overall objective is to develop product/s that will quickly and accurately determine whether arthropods collected by preventive medicine units in the field are infected with medically relevant alphaviruses or flaviviruses in order to minimize the impact of the disease on operational capabilities. The technology is based on the simple and reliable immuno-chromatographic detection method by which sensitive test-strip based assays provide results in less than 30 minutes. The proposed assays will be easy to perform and results easy to interpret in far-forward situations. The assay will be made available in a kit with components required to perform the assay. The assay kit will be stable at ambient storage conditions.