CHEMICALLY AMPLIFIED DETECTION OF ORGANIC VAPORS

Not Available Rickettsiae and ehrlichiae are obligately intracellular, arthropod-borne bacteria which are distributed either worldwide or in defined geographic areas. Several are human pathogens and may be a significant cause of acute febrile illness in endemic regions. Integrated Diagnostics currently distributes, on commercial and investigational bases, rapid dot ELISA dipstick (DS) diagnostic kits for detecting anti-rickettsial and ehrlichial antibodies. We propose to upgrade these devices by developing a more rapid, handheld format which requires only ambient temperatures for performance and reagent storage. Two formats, a modified DS and a lateral flow device, will be evaluated side by side. In Phase I, we will assess the performance of each device in detecting antibodies to one rickettsia, Orientia tsutsucamushi, and determine the feasibility of replacing lysed whole cell antigen with a recombinant O. tsutsunamushi antigen. Phase II will address incorporation of other (and multiple) rickettsial antigen specificities, production scale-up, and field testing. This work will result in a serological test better adapted to field situations and, like some of our current DS, capable of screening sera for a number of antibody specificities in a single test. BENEFITS: The improved devices will address the needs of domestic and foreign health agencies for simple, economical serosurveillance and confirming diagnosis. We sense a strong commercial interest in these, which will supplement D