Development of a Point-of-care Assay for the Detection of Sand Fly Fever Virus (SFFV), a Militarily Important Pathogen of the CENTCOM, EUCOM and AFRIC

Sand fly fever viruses (SFFV) are a significant health problem in many regions of the world, such as Africa, the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East and Central Asia. SFFV are transmitted by sand fly vectors (Phlebotomus spp.). VecTOR Test Systems, Inc. will develop a point-of-care assay for detection of SFFV infection in deployed military service members. The assay capable of detecting SFFV antigen as well as specific IgM response in clinical samples will aid in the diagnosis of infected personnel. 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. In Phase I, a sufficient number of assays will be manufactured to evaluate performance and determine plan for the next phase.