Revolutionary Mosquito Borne Disease : Bill and Melinda Gates Research Foundation funding, University of the Sunshine Coast scientists created a quick, mobile mosquito-borne disease diagnostic equipment.
UniSC researchers are preparing to expand their pioneering study on World Mosquito Day, August 20. This honors dengue fever fighters in warm and subtropical regions like northern Australia.
Molecular Engineering Associate Professor Joanne Macdonald works at the University of South Carolina. She reported about her Gates Foundation award of roughly AU$150,000 in the Gates Open study. Drs. Madeeha Ahmed and Nina Pollak, her project collaborators, are shown.
The doctor said, “Our new diagnostic looks like the well-known COVID-19 at-home stick test, and it’s made for each of the four dengue virus strains.” A big advance. The approach can detect even the smallest virus genetic trace in mosquitoes. Instead of pricey lab tools, it employs pipettes and heat.
She stated the new technology allows “the whole diagnostic procedure can be done on-site in about 35 minutes.” This is a major change from the current long journey and PCR analysis.”
The new method stops the virus from spreading while it grows with a chemical. This identifies people faster, cheaper, and more accurately than current tests.
“This new idea could change how communities, especially low-resource ones, check mosquito populations for dengue,” she added. This will greatly aid dengue-stricken nations.”
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Famous scientists from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Queensland Health, and The University of Queensland wrote the study. A Ph.D. from UniSC and DMTC Medical Countermeasures Program assistance were also provided.
Dr. Pollak’s latest study examined dengue detection in serum, plasma, and blood. The report stated, “The tests combine speed and accuracy in human samples, making them potential game-changers for dengue detection, especially in resource-poor areas.”
The DMTC Medical Countermeasures Program and BioCifer funded the study.
The team wants to merge all dengue tests into one screening tool to make cases easy to find.
“Basic research prepares for empirical research,” Dr. Ahmed remarked of the group’s goals. We would like to test our innovative idea in dengue-endemic areas.
Dengue kills 400 million people annually, according to the WHO. Dengue is spread via mosquitoes. High heat, agony, sickness, and skin rashes. There is no cure, thus, only the symptoms can be treated.
The Gates Open Research platform interviews Drs. Macdonald, Pollak, and Ahmed on World Mosquito Day.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Gates Open Research encourages researchers to release their findings rapidly and conduct public peer assessments.
Gates Foundation gave 1,960 $7 billion donations last year. Each prize addressed poverty, illness, and global diversity.
Dr. Macdonald is BioCifer’s Chief Technology Officer, a crucial medical company to the study. Gates Open Research leverages F1000, a top open research publisher.
