RATS AS BIOSENSORS...RATS AS BIOSENSORS APOPO IMPACT –MINE DETECTIONLand released for local...
Transcript of RATS AS BIOSENSORS...RATS AS BIOSENSORS APOPO IMPACT –MINE DETECTIONLand released for local...
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RATS AS BIOSENSORSEmploying African giant pouched rats as
scent detectors
Dr. Miriam Schneider, Senior Researcher, APOPO
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
◼ Who we are and what we do
APOPO is a Belgium non-profit organization with
headquarter in Tanzania that trains African giant
pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei) to save lives by
sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis (TB)
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHERE WE WORK
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT – MINE DETECTION
◼ A mine detection rat can search the
area of a tennis court in < 30
minutes. This can take a human
with a metal detector up to 4 days.
◼ Unlike metal detectors, mine
detection rats ignore scrap metal and
only detect the scent of explosives.
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
APOPO IMPACT – MINE DETECTION
Land released for local communities
23,623,426 m2 M2
138,480
Total landmines and UXO destroyed
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT -TB
◼ Rats as efficient second-line screening tool:
A trained rat can check 100 samples in 20
minutes. This could take a lab technician
up to four days.
◼ The rats are detecting the scent of
tuberculosis in sputum samples.
◼ Suspect samples are then re-
checked using WHO endorsed
confirmation tests.
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT -TB
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
APOPO IMPACT - TB
Additional TB patients found
15,679
Total number of samples evaluated
591,878
APOPO’s research has raised the case detection rate of partner clinics by 40%
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHY GIANT POUCHED RATS
Ewer, 1966; Peichl et al. 1998
Sense of smell important for
navigation, social skills and
detection and choice of
foodsources
Nocturnal animals; live in underground
burrows; blurry, monochromatic vision
◼ Highly developed sense of smell
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHY GIANT POUCHED RATS
◼ Highly developed sense of smell
◼ Intelligent and easy to train
◼ Cheap to feed, breed, maintain
and transport
◼ Indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa
and therefore resistant to most
tropical diseases and familiar with
the climate
◼ Although sociable - easily
transferable between trainers
◼ Live up to 10 years
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ APOPO is a Belgium non-profit organization with headquarter in Tanzania that trains African giant pouched rats (Cricetomysansorgei) to save lives by sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis (TB)
◼ Potential new application: detection of contraband wildlife products
◼ Employing giant rats for
detection of contraband wildlife
products ?
◼ Integrated approach to
employ rats as additional
and synergistic tools to
existing technologies
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ Proof-of-concept: Detection of contraband wildlife products
Ground Pangolin African hardwood
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ Proof-of-concept: Detection of contraband wildlife products
Target samples
Non-Targets:
Common masking agents
Pangolin scales
(Smutsia temminckii)seized African hardwood
(Dalbergia melanoxylon)
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼STAGE 1: Are the rats able to find wildlife targets and ignore non-targets?
Pangolin HITs
% o
f Sa
mp
les
Hardwood HITs
False alarms
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼STAGE 2: How well are the rats able to find small
amounts of the target hidden in non-target samples?
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ STAGE 2: How well are the rats able to find small amounts of
the target hidden in non-target samples?
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RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
NEXT STEPS
◼ Giant pouched rats are effective biosensors
◼ They can be trained to detect wildlife products
◼ Develop deployable detection system
◼ Trial with experienced partners in real-life settings
◼ With sufficient funding - continue training with new material
◼ Finding the niche - Identify where our rats would be needed most
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION !
Visit us www.apopo.org
Adopt a HeroRAT https://www.apopo.org/en/adopt
Funding:
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