Research and Development efforts are focusing on new molecular detection tools for point of care detection of emerging viral diseases. This has led to the development of real time PCR assays, and isothermal amplification assays (RPA/LAMP/HDA) for up to 70 agents infecting humans, livestock and aquaculture species. A mobile suitcase laboratory was developed using real time PCR and real time RPA and successfully deployed in several outbreaks in Africa including the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa 2014 – 2016. Currently work focuses on paper based detection of molecular amplificates.
Work into developing syndromic panels of detection assays e.g. for respiratory viruses, European arboviruses, haemorrhagic fever viruses and fever of unknown origin included a flow through microarray system, line assays, cytometric bead arrays and a point of care microfluific LabDisc detecting up to 10 parameters.
Selected Publications on Emerging virus Diagnostics
- Real time PCR
- Recombinase Polymerase Amplification
- Mobile suitcase Laboratory
- Loop mediated amplification
- Helicase Dependent Amplification
- Microarrays
- Microfluidic systems
- Point-of-Care serodiagnostics
Invitation to submit to a special issue in Viruses
„Emerging Vector Borne Viruses in Africa”
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses/special_issues/Emerging_Africa
This call is for early career African researchers Phds or Postdocs as first or senior authors.
