Covid-19 came like a bolt from the blue. The health, social and economic repercussions of this pandemic event have been considerable and, four years on, we are still suffering from them.
In the last 120 years, most epidemics have been caused by RNA respiratory viruses that often originate from animals to find new hosts in humans, under specific environmental conditions.
For this reason, the EU-funded project PAIR will develop rapid and reliable detection methods for RNA respiratory viruses, both in animal and human samples, to foster pandemic preparedness. Two leading-edge technologies will be created for this purpose: PANPOC and PANRISK.
To introduce these technologies, as well as the objectives and impacts of its research activities, PAIR has released its presentation video.
PAIR's high-level technologies, PANPOC and PANRISK, will be implemented and validated by veterinary and clinical end-users in five countries: Denmark, France, Latvia, Italy, and Spain.
Based on data and information collected through these tools, new guidelines for a European One Health genomic-informed surveillance and outbreak response will also be delivered.
As the EU prepares to face many challenges for the years to come, PAIR aspires to improve collaboration among researchers worldwide to provide high-level technologies, higher health standards in society, and cost-effective solutions for widespread rollout. This will help the EU to build a One Health approach and be more prepared for a future pandemic scenario.
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