MOBILISE: A novel and green mobile One Health laboratory for (re-)emerging infectious disease outbreaks

Mobile laboratories are becoming increasingly important for quick response to epidemic outbreaks in remote areas. Due to climate change and rising temperatures, emerging arboviruses (Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, West Nile Virus, Rift Valley fever, Dengue fever) are finding their way into Europe through arthropod vectors (mosquitoes, ticks), and are becoming a major public health concern. Optimally monitoring zoonotic outbreaks requires a "One Health" approach, in which not only human, but also animal and environmental samples are analysed, as close as possible to the vectors' habitat. Also returning travellers might carry haemorrhagic Ebola/Marburg virus or respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. A survey of existing European mobile laboratory capacity revealed several shortcomings: of 193 labs, 66% were civilian, 88% were exclusively for human diagnostics, with 11% having an accredited quality management system, and only 3% had the highest bio-safety level BSL-4 needed for (haemorrhagic) arbovirus handling. MOBILISE aims to close this diagnostic gap, by developing a novel, quality-assured, mobile One Health laboratory solution, to provide BSL-4 capacity to many European countries. It will receive human/animal/environmental samples for molecular diagnostics, serology, microbiology, and host a whole genome sequencing platform for pathogen discovery and epidemiological analysis. We will further develop novel rapid diagnostic tests for BSL-3/4 pathogens, and produce results in machine-readable form. A novel AI-based "Emergency Operating Centre and Decision Support System" software will assist end-users in coordinating MOBILISE fleets across Europe and manage outbreaks in real-time. Hosted on an electric/hybrid truck platform, and using solar and wind-energy, it will also reduce CO2 emissions in compliance with the European Green Deal. The lab will be field-tested to TRL-7 by National agencies and first-responders in Austria, Romania, Greece and Africa.