Lieselotte Cnops from our Department of Clinical Sciences was granted a postdoctoral innovation mandate by IWT, a first for ITM. This will allow Lieselotte to develop, under the supervision of Prof. Kevin Ariën of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, a rapid diagnostic test for the simultaneous detection and identification of a broad variety of medically important viruses transmitted by arthropod vectors. These arboviruses, such as the dengue virus and chikungunya virus, are spreading rapidly and globally, and cause sporadic and unpredictable outbreaks. With over 100 million infections per year and more than 2.5 billion people at risk, arboviruses are a significant public health problem. The goal is to make sure that the pan-arboviral test reaches the market by collaborating with an industry partner.

Development of a pan-arboviral molecular diagnostic test

Postdoctoral researcher

Lieselotte Cnops (Department of Clinical Sciences)

Promoter

Kevin Ariën (Department of Biomedical Sciences)

Key facts

• Arboviruses are spreading rapidly and globally, and cause sporadic and unpredictable outbreaks.
• With over 100 million infections per year and more than 2.5 billion people at risk, arboviruses are a significant public health problem.
• There is growing awareness that a significant number of acute tropical febrile illnesses are not caused by malaria, but rather by bacterial and viral infections.
• Prompt diagnosis and rapid identification of the cause of fever is needed for accurate patient management and adequate treatment, to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics, and to prevent severe disease or complications.
• Current conventional diagnosis by serology is limited in terms of rapidity, specificity and interpretation.