Project description
An innovative diagnostic test for diphtheria
Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the pathogenic agent of diphtheria, poses a serious health risk to non-vaccinated individuals or those with a weak immune system. Considering the increase in diphtheria cases among Asian and African migrants, scientists of the EU-funded DIFTERIA project have raised the issue of a reliable diagnostic method to prepare for a possible epidemic. The proposed method will detect the diphtheria toxin using an immunochromatographic strip (ICS) in just six hours. Implementation of this novel test will improve the accuracy of diphtheria diagnosis and enable the timely initiation of treatment, thereby preventing the spread of the pathogen in the community.
Objective
During 1990s, there was an epidemic of diphtheria in Russia and other countries of the former USSR affecting about 200, 000 people with 5000 deaths. Although diphtheria incidence in Russia has declined substantially, recent reports from several EU countries indicate circulation of toxigenic C. diphtheriae among migrants from Asia and Africa as well as children’s deaths among indigenous population. Toxigenic C. diphtheriae poses a serious risk for unvaccinated persons and persons with low level of immunological protection, the number of which in recent times in Europe has increased. The International system of quality control revealed poor state of laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria in EU countries, which means we are not prepared for the possible outbreaks. This is mostly due to the absence of simple, standard and reliable diagnostic methods.
The leading element in the diphtheria laboratory diagnostic approach is a detection of the bacterial toxin. In this regard, it is proposed to develop non-apparatus immunochromatographic strip (ICS) test for diphtheria toxin (DT) indication. In addition a liquid selective medium for the clinical sample cultivation will be designed. A combination of the ICS test and the medium will represent a novel assay for early diphtheria diagnosis. The reagent kit will be commercially produced. The availability of simple, reliable and affordable ICS assay for DT detection will increase the accuracy of diphtheria diagnosis in EU and other countries and reduce the duration of its execution up to 6 hours (instead of 5-7 days as recommended by the WHO manual). The efficient early diphtheria diagnosis will enable timely initiation of anti-diphtheritic treatment that will save lives, prevent the development of complications (heart failure, paralysis), as well as stop the spread of the disease through initiation of preventive measures (vaccination and antibiotic prophylaxis) in case of disease outbreaks.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology
- social sciences sociology demography human migrations
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
99427 Weimar
Germany
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.