POC4PETS

Point of Care Diagnostics for rapid and cheap pathogen detection of companion animals

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Veterinary diagnostics is a key tool in the prevention and control of infectious diseases in animals. POC4PETS aims at delivering an innovative set of technologies for sample preparation and enrichment for rapid point of care (POC) diagnosis of companion animals’ pathologies. For each of the selected animal species, POC4PETS focuses on emerging, endemic or zoonotic diseases, which are currently characterised by a lack of reliable diagnostic tools or that need improved diagnostics. The research activities aim at identifying the agents via different nucleic acid detection technologies: on site PCR, isothermal amplification and mini-array probing. POC4PETS products will contribute to reach the CAHP 2007-2013 objective of reducing the direct socio-economic effects of animal diseases, through the development of an innovative set of knowledge based solutions translated into diagnostic technologies. The research activities will be accompanied and followed by strong dissemination and exploitation actions carefully designed for EU member and third countries interested stakeholders and end-users, including veterinary practitioners and medical doctors in case of zoonoses. POC4PETS will provide the involved SMEs with new tools and effective detection systems characterised by the potential of a high market acceptance that will enhance their competitiveness. The POC4PETS consortium involves 3 multidisciplinary RTD performers with expertise in virology, microbiology, parassitology, chemistry and molecular biology and 3 SMEs involved in veterinary diagnostics manufacturing, laser technology and veterinary services'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU project has developed a number of new diagnostic tests for animal pathogens to improve disease diagnosis at the point of care.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

For many animal diseases, current diagnostics suffer from low sensitivity and false negative results. Although molecular and immunological techniques are available, they are either expensive or not widely applicable. Thus, there is a need to develop new, more sensitive, cost-effective diagnostics assays for pet animals.

With this in mind, the EU-funded project http://www.poc4pets-fp7.eu/ (POC4PETS) (Point of care diagnostics for rapid and cheap pathogen detection of companion animals) proposed the development of tests suitable for point-of-care use. These tests will be based on new, breakthrough technologies and will use DNA testing to identify various animal pathogens.

During the first part of the study the consortium's activities focused on testing ways to increase pathogen concentration for easier diagnosis. POC4PETS also reviewed available diagnostic tools for animal diseases to identify gaps in the market.

A new portable device was developed that overcame conventional technical limitations and generated promising results with respect to Leishmania detection. Researchers also explored the use of fluorophores for DNA detection, which emit different fluorescence colours upon excitation by a certain wavelength.

With respect to orthopoxvirus and parapoxvirus, the consortium has identified unique targets and developed assays that allow detection of both viral species. The project also created prototype diagnostic assays or kits for feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus and bovine papillomavirus.

POC4PETS then conducted field trials to validate the developed prototypes, assess their reliability and perform any necessary modifications. Additionally, the consortium recruited veterinarians to field-test their prototypes on real pathological samples.

Commercialisation of the POC4PETS technologies will eliminate the need for specialised laboratory equipment and speed up pathogen identification. This will reduce the number of sick animals and improve the quality of life of millions of pets and pet owners.