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About the project The goal of the AQUATEST PREPARATORY PROJECT was to design and develop a low-cost water test that is suitable for use in developing countries and in emergencies, such as the Asian tsunami or the Pakistani earthquake. Disease spread through contaminated water is responsible for an estimated 1.8 million deaths every year, and a low-cost water test would help prevent these deaths by identifying those water sources that are contaminated and those that are safe - ‘OK to drink’. For some of the same reasons that drugs are primarily developed for diseases of the developed countries, most advances in diagnostics technology are targeted for use in North America and Europe. Many current water quality tests assume that skilled personnel are available to carry out the testing and that laboratories exist with electricity, incubators, glassware and reagents. Whilst there are some low-cost water tests available (see links), the AQUATEST PREPARATORY PROJECT seeks to improve upon these existing tests by incorporating advances in technology that are appropriate for the developing countries. AQUATEST was a preparatory project focused on identifying all necessary criteria for a new low-cost water test and producing blueprints for the diagnostic technology. The test will assess microbiological water quality, rather than chemical water quality. Once a test specification had been drawn up, the AQUATEST PREPARATORY PROJECT team planned to implement the test in a follow-up project. This follow-up project has now begun and you can find further details at the Aquatest2 project web site. |
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