Whole-of-population CRISPR Point-of-care Testing For Congenital Cytomegalovirus To Prevent Hearing And Neurodevelopment Disabilities Through A Public Health Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,058,920.00
Summary
Congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) is the major infective cause of deafness and brain disability, both of which are potentially reversible with early treatment. Currently, there is no screening at birth, and cCMV is diagnosed too late for treatment. Our team will test and validate CRISPR, a new and cheap technology, on 110,000+ newborns to detect cCMV. This will revolutionise how cCMV is detected, make treatment more accessible and pave way to lower rates of deafness and cerebral palsy.