Rapid Test for Viral Outbreaks in Poultry Farms

AviaSens proposal aims to develop a rapid and portable test for the early detection of viral outbreaks in poultry farms. The product relies on an RDT platform (rapid diagnostic test), developed by BioEclosion, featuring a disposable cartridge and a reader. This innovative platform integrates tailored designed DNA/RNA probes, with magnetic actuation, and electrochemical genosensing in a portable, battery-operated reader. 

The long-term vision of the AviaSens consortium relies on an agnostic platform capable of quantifying various communicable diseases in poultry farms, which can be easily switched to emerging challenges. 

Although the pandemic highlighted the role of PCR as a dominant technology for confirming viral infections, its limitations in low-resource settings, including expensive equipment and power dependencies, make it less practical in resource-constrained environments. In response, BioEclosion collaborates with experts to design a RDT prototype that addresses the complexities of diagnosing viral diseases in poultry farms. Unlike PCR, this diagnostic test is rapid, cost-effective, requires minimal handling, and can seamlessly integrate into poultry farm operations for on-site viral infection screening. AviaSens aims to significantly reduce results time to 15 minutes, providing a simplified analytical procedure for end-users, and quantifying DNA/RNA at low concentrations.

The first applications envisioned for the AviaSens project include Avian Influenza Virus (AIV), Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) and Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV). These targets were selected due to their highly contagious viral infection, affecting both domestic poultry and wild birds, leading to outbreaks with severe economic consequences. Moreover, certain strains raise significant public health concerns, as they have the potential to undergo genetic reassortment and cross from birds to humans, resulting to the emergence of a new pandemic strain capable of sustained human-to-human transmission. Importantly, this diagnostic approach can be adapted for the diagnosis of other infectious diseases related to global health, and its flexibility allows for easy customization to detect novel strains, enhancing its overall value.

A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) like AviaSens can find utility both in low resource settings where high-quality gold-standard laboratory tests are unavailable, and in high-income countries to significantly improve results turnaround times thus reducing costs. The outcomes achieved by AviaSens will enable decision-makers and stakeholders at local, national, and international levels, ranging from public health authorities to agricultural and veterinary authorities. This will facilitate the swift implementation of biosecurity measures, mitigating the impact on both animal and human health, and alleviating the economic consequences for farmers. 

BioEclosion, under the coordination of Dr. Jofre Ferrer Dalmau, partner with expert teams: CSIC-UPV led by Dr. Jesús Ángel Sánchez Navarro, specializing in design of non-radioactive RNA/DNA probes for virus diagnosis; UAB-IBB led by Prof. Dr. María Isabel Pividori, an expert in Rapid Diagnostic Tests, and CECAV led by Dr. Pablo Catalá Gregori, European Specialist in Poultry Veterinary Science and expert in the diagnosis of infection diseases in poultry, in this acceleration phase to build a reliable, scalable, and secure product faster and at the same time, ensuring compliance with specific national regulations for the rapid detection of poultry virus. The combination of academic and industrial partners in the AviaSens consortium, along with end-users from the poultry industry, forms a highly complementary study team, which will deliver project aims according to chronogram. This, in combination with a valorization and commercialization plan, will pave the way for future large-scale implementation of the AviaSens prototypes.