Development Analyte Specific Reagents for Dengue Virus

Dengue virus is a mosquito born flavivirus that represents a major threat to military forces deployed to tropical areas of the world. Due to its worldwide distribution, US military and civilian personnel deployed overseas are at high risk of being infected. The global prevalence of Dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, spreading from 9 to some 40 countries. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-east Asia and the Western Pacific. Not only is the number of cases increasing as the disease is spreading to new areas, but explosive outbreaks are occurring. As U.S. military come increasingly in contact with the disease, the need for rapid detection capabilities becomes increasingly apparent. In Phase I, Calbiotech proposes to develop Analyte Specific Reagents (ASRs) for the detection of Dengue virus.