Project: Development of Rapid Multi-Test for diagnosis of viral infections contributing to colony collapse disorder of honeybees.
In the past years massive deaths of honeybees have taken place all over Europe and other continents, especially since 2004 due to the "Depopulation Syndrome" or "Colony collapse disorder" (CCD) phenomenon. The problem is attributed to viral infections. It is estimated that hives infected with viruses have a 96% chance of suffering from CCD. Once infected, the chances of a colony collapsing rise 65 times. Moreover, factors which weaken the immune system of bees, such as Varroa destructor mites, other parasites and also environmental change-related stresses, malnutrition and pesticides, additionally encourage the development of viral infections and boost the CCD scope. While viral infections of bees had originally been described as economically irrelevant, they currently are considered as the CO cause of high colony losses causing huge financial losses for agriculture._x000D_Since honeybees are extremely important to the European agriculture being worth billions of Euros as honey producers and important crop pollinators, there is a huge and urgent global market demand for a diagnostic test which would enable monitoring viral infections in bee colonies._x000D_The BeeMonitor project will provide rapid diagnostic test for bees for effective monitoring of viral infections in bee colonies. The test will enable quantification of viruses, causing the highest losses in bee colonies, belonging to the Dicistroviridae family (Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV) and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and to the Iflaviridae family (Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)). The product will be user-friendly, cost-effective and easy to use in the field - no special skills or equipment are required. These properties, together with a large number of distribution channels will make Rapid Multi-Test alternative to the molecular tests conducted in the laboratories. Early and adequate diagnosis enables rapid intervention, lowers the cost of treatment, reduces the spread of infection and significantly increases the chances for colony’s recovery. Good agricultural practices indicate that replacement of preventive usage of so called bee protectors by bee health monitoring (together with the intervention in case of infection) brings significant financial benefits. _x000D_BeeMonitor project has a highly innovative character. On the European market, there is no test/kit for in-field diagnosis of viral infections of bees. BeeMonitor product will be based on scientific knowledge and competences, sophisticated technologies and R&D activities. The process of product development includes: concept creation of the product, the idea generation, the product design and detail engineering as well as manufacturing specialists’ expertise. The project also involves market research and marketing analysis._x000D_BeeMonitor project will have impact on:_x000D_- Reduction of bees affected by CCD by early diagnosis and monitoring of viral infections of bees,_x000D_- Economic benefits for beekeepers and veterinary entities. Early and adequate diagnosis will enable rapid intervention, reduce the cost of treatment, reduce spreading of infection and significantly increase chance of restoring bee population in the apiary,_x000D_- Economic growth as the work of pollinators is globally worth over € 58,2 billion a year. Without the participation of bees, crops of most fruits of our climatic zone are ten times lower,_x000D_- Promotion of a closer cooperation between R&D companies and scientific institutions as well as high level of information and the knowledge transfer,_x000D_- Development of the new knowledge connected with bees and bees pathology and technological progress in the field of antibody production and lateral flow technology,_x000D_- Strengthening of the EU market in veterinary medicine,_x000D_- Improvement of European citizens´ health and quality of life._x000D_The consortium is composed of three CO participants (BioScientia, PureBiologics, Genkinetik) and three key subcontractors (Inova+, Regional Apicultural Centre, Foresite Diagnostics). The consortium is well balanced being composed of organizations with a strong background in research and development activities as well as an extensive experience in industry, knowledge transfer, dissemination activities and project management. All the participants complement each other and as a team they have all the needed skills and exceptional competencies for the tasks defined by this project and are able to fulfill its ambitious objectives._x000D_
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Acronym
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BeeMonitor
(Reference Number: 7993)
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Duration
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01/04/2013 - 31/03/2016
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Project Topic
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The aim of the project is to create a fast, comprehensive, specific and sensitive test LFD to detect viral diseases that contribute to the colony collapse disorder of honeybees to be used in the field. BeeMonitor is a response to the huge demand for new diagnostic tools on the veterinary markets.
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Network
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Eurostars
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Call
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Eurostars Cut-Off 9
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Project partner
