710560Rapid, specific and sensitive tests for water borne pathogensClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKDetection of waterborne pathogens is a routine part of environmental monitoring yet it is an area with obvious room for improvement but which has seen little innovation in recent years. Bacterial screening tests at the point of collection (e.g. swimming pools, rivers, lakes, wells) are generic so they detect all species, regardless of whether that species is a danger or not. After a positive result, samples are taken back to a central laboratory where confirmation of the result often takes at least a day. In the case of a harmless species, swimming pools, lakes and beaches can be reopened, but only after being unnecessarily closed. In the case of confirmation of a dangerous species, the results often come too late; a lot can happen to water quality in a river in 24 hours, meaning that containment or clean-up measures are introduced late. This project directly addresses the gap between screening result and confirmation by demonstrating a technology with both the universal screening capability, ease of use and speed required at the point of sample collection and the sensitivity and specificity typically only seen in a laboratory. As populations increase and age, the risks from water borne pathogens increase because people are both living closer together and are less able to fight infections. We envisage that with our technology, the technician running the screening assay today would be able to confirm a species in a positive result and so no longer close public spaces unnecessarily, confirm that action is required where there is a threat and be able to focus activity on those cases where something needs to be done.