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The pictures display some organisms able to produce or to contain potent biological toxins (from left to right): the plant Ricinus communis (ricin); the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum (botulinum neurotoxins); the aerobic bacterium staphylococcus aureus (staphylococcal enterotoxins) and mussels (saxitoxin).
The features of biological toxins like ricin, botulinum toxins, staphylococcal enterotoxins and saxitoxin place them at the interface of biological and chemical agents. They may cause a significant bioterroristic threat. Thus, the current preparedness within European countries should be further improved to limit casualties in the case of an intentional release. While different technologies for toxin detection have been established, hardly any universally agreed “gold standards” are available, and reference materials as well as proficiency tests are generally lacking.
To address these issues EQuATox will create a network of experts among EU 27 and associated countries, focussing on biological toxins and integrating experts from the security, verification, health and food sector.
The main objectives of EQuATox are the following:
By creating a network of experts the project will substantially help to increase preparedness in the field of biological toxins. Based on the status quo of toxin detection described in EQuATox, good practices and gaps in detection technology will be identified as foundation to harmonise and standardise detection capabilities.
Date: 11.02.2014
Dr. Brigitte Dorner