Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MOBILISE (MOBILISE: A novel and green mobile One Health laboratory for (re-)emerging infectious disease outbreaks)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-04-01 al 2025-09-30
Due to climate change and rising temperatures, emerging arboviruses (Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, West Nile Virus, Rift Valley fever, Dengue fever) are finding their way into Europe through arthropod vectors (mosquitoes, ticks), and are becoming a major public health concern. Optimally monitoring zoonotic outbreaks requires a "One Health" approach, in which human, animal and environmental samples are analysed, as close as possible to the vectors' habitat. Also returning travellers might carry haemorrhagic Ebola/Marburg virus or respiratory pathogens. Existing European mobile laboratory capacity have several shortcomings: most were exclusively for human diagnostics, only few had quality management system or the highest bio-safety level for (haemorrhagic) arbovirus handling.
MOBILISE developed a novel, quality-assured, mobile One Health laboratory solution. It can receive human/animal/environmental samples for diagnostics and host a whole genome sequencing platform for pathogen discovery and epidemiological analysis. We further developed novel rapid diagnostic tests for BSL-3/4 pathogens. A novel AI-based "Emergency Operating Centre and Decision Support System" software can assist end-users in predicting outbreaks and allocate mobile laboratories into potential hotspot areas. As all operations can be entirely powered through photovoltaic, the laboratory reduces CO2 emissions in compliance with the European Green Deal.
MOBILISE developed a novel, quality-assured, mobile One Health laboratory solution. It can receive human/animal/environmental samples for diagnostics and host a whole genome sequencing platform for pathogen discovery and epidemiological analysis. We further developed novel rapid diagnostic tests for BSL-3/4 pathogens. A novel AI-based "Emergency Operating Centre and Decision Support System" software can assist end-users in predicting outbreaks and allocate mobile laboratories into potential hotspot areas. As all operations can be entirely powered through photovoltaic, the laboratory reduces CO2 emissions in compliance with the European Green Deal.
An expandable, mobile BSL-3 laboratory container, mounted on an Mercedes Atego platform, was built to the requirements of national agencies and first responders. Although an electric truck platform is currently not compatible with rapid deployment time a mobile laboratory has to achieve (due to low range and long charging times), the laboratory fulfills its green mandate and is equipped with a photovoltaic system, but can also run on grid power (or in emergencies by a diesel generator). Based on a needs assessment conducted amongst national agencies and first responders, a laboratory manual and a training concept were developed. The development of novel rapid-tests and of the One Health Sequencing platform were developed. A training to establish a European Pool of MOBILISE operators was conducted in February 2025 at BNITM, Hamburg, Germany. Together with these trained experts, we showed the laboratory's complete self-sufficiency during four field missions in Europe and Africa and its capacity to diagnose risk group 3 and 4 pathogens, such as West Nile Virus (WNV), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) and Rift Valley Fever (RVF). We also demonstrated the laboratory's full potential to operate under a One Health mandate, and analysed various sample types, from blood samples from humans and livestock, as well as tissue samples from small animals and important environmental samples (e.g. guano, mosquito and tick vectors).
A centralised repository European mobile laboratory capacities was already available at the proposal writing stage, but to drive internalisation, and because risk group 4 pathogens often emerge in Africa, we extended our review.This database was further curated and mobile laboratory initiatives from both continents were contacted to assess whether the projects are still operational and a total of 13 active mobile laboratory projects from Greece, Italy, Germany, Albania, Ukraine, Tanzania, UK, Hungary and Czech Republic were identified. Future mobile laboratory initiatives can register through the MOBILISE homepage (https://mobilise-lab.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra)) in which the survey can still be accessed. The database was handed over to HERA and its MCM team to coordinate European mobile laboratory responses in the future.
A centralised repository European mobile laboratory capacities was already available at the proposal writing stage, but to drive internalisation, and because risk group 4 pathogens often emerge in Africa, we extended our review.This database was further curated and mobile laboratory initiatives from both continents were contacted to assess whether the projects are still operational and a total of 13 active mobile laboratory projects from Greece, Italy, Germany, Albania, Ukraine, Tanzania, UK, Hungary and Czech Republic were identified. Future mobile laboratory initiatives can register through the MOBILISE homepage (https://mobilise-lab.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra)) in which the survey can still be accessed. The database was handed over to HERA and its MCM team to coordinate European mobile laboratory responses in the future.
In WP2, we developed the novel MOBILISE platform. During field trialling in Germany, Austria, Greece and Tanzania, we demonstrated the laboratory's full portfolio of diagnostics and cutting-edge analysis for high-risk pathogens to the field. Whilst mounted on a Mercedes Atego truck, MOBILISE has a very compact footprint during transport mode, yet when expanded, it has significantly more space available than comparable container laboratories. Because of this 30% gain in working area, and the innovative separation of the working area into rooms (BSL-3 room, 2 x wings), MOBILISE can house many diagnostic workflows. As a fully dedicated One Health laboratory, varying sample types can be received and inactivated in the negatively pressurized, BSL-3 containment area with its class III biosafety cabinet ("glovebox"). We are not only able to inactivate the most infectious viral agents (risk group 4), but can also cultivate, identify and screen bacteria for anti-microbial resistance. The wings can be used for PCR diagnostics and One Health Sequencing, as they allow the separation of workflows into a clean pre-PCR room and a dirty post-PCR/Sequencing area. All of this was possible due to MDSC's innovative laboratory shelter design, and the selection of highly compact, energy efficient engineering solutions, in particular when designing the BSL-3 room. MOBILISE can be fully operated on renewable and green energy.
Within WP3 AIT developed novel nucleic-acid based rapid diagnostic kits (RDTs) which, as opposed to conventional RDTs that detect antigens produced by a pathogen, directly detect genetic material of CCHFV and WNV. In the future, we are aiming for a low tech, rapid test with a sensitivity comparable to PCR, which can be utilized in low resource settings as well. A particularly interesting feature is that these RDTs are machine-readable and can be automatically analyzed from within the glovebox, thus significantly reducing the turn-around time to diagnosis for risk group 4 pathogens such as CCHFV.
Within WP3 AIT developed novel nucleic-acid based rapid diagnostic kits (RDTs) which, as opposed to conventional RDTs that detect antigens produced by a pathogen, directly detect genetic material of CCHFV and WNV. In the future, we are aiming for a low tech, rapid test with a sensitivity comparable to PCR, which can be utilized in low resource settings as well. A particularly interesting feature is that these RDTs are machine-readable and can be automatically analyzed from within the glovebox, thus significantly reducing the turn-around time to diagnosis for risk group 4 pathogens such as CCHFV.