Globally, nearly 6,000 children die each day due to water-related illnesses. Treatment-based approaches must be implemented to minimize these deaths. Rapid (< 1 hr) detection platforms covering most waterborne pathogens of concern, their indicators, and associated sources of antibiotic resistance bacteria on a single chip are urgently needed.

Such platforms must be operable under field conditions with personnel requiring minimal training. This proposal focuses on such a multiplexed chip by adapting an already developed robust and low cost platform (Gene-Z) for on-site water pathogen detection. The proposed project has three objectives:

• Provision of waterborne pathogens chips and detection systems
• Integration of Live vs. Dead (Viability) Protocol on the Chip
• Field Validation, Deployment, Support and Feedback