Ultrasensitive assay to detect loiasis onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis

A rapid diagnositic test that can simultaneously detect loiasis onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis is of utility both for mapping the prevalence of disease in support of mass drug administration programs and to allow for treatment decisions to be made at the point of care In this proposal we aim to generate a lateral flow based rapid diagnostic test that detects the presence or absence of circulating antibodies to filarial proteins vvhich are validated indications of exposure to L loa volvulus and W bancrofti The lateral flow format allows for a cheap rapid test suitable for low resource environments The assay utilizes novel ultrahigh contrast nanoparticle probes to give a readout in low abundance samples and is configured to allow for a smart phone reado t enabling GPS and other identifying information to be captured in the cloud